As much as I like Thurman it does feel like he's trying to duck Spence

Thurman has been dodging Spence for a while.

I'm starting to believe that.

Thurman isn't shameless like Canelo. He'll fight him tomorrow than get called a coward by his fans. There's just not enough heat being generated right now by the fans, but one thing he'll never do is stall once he realises fans want it.

Speculation at its best.. He said in the showtime interview that he will fight Spence around end of 2018 & rightfully so.. He has got to test his arm post surgery & may be another good fight & Spence can come get that whooping..

The problem here is that now this narrative that Thurman is scared of/ducking Spence has been created by the fans so no matter how he answers any questions people will jump to what they already have in their mind. Much like when fans were using group think to believe that Mayweather was scared of Pacquiao no matter what was going on behind the scenes. Thurman realizes he is in a position of power, he's the man at 147 and the unified champion while Spence is a title holder and the challenger. You don't aggressively call out the challenger, that's ridiculous and foolish. You let the challengers throw rocks at the throne and step down to face the best challenger, which undoubtedly will be Spence. The fight will happen, you can tell Thurman is even excited about facing a boogeyman the media is creating to destroy him. Just give my boy One Time credit when he makes that monster look average in the ring and takes that belt off him next year. Not scared, just knows its a tough fight with a big risk and doesnt want to jump in right away. Hes said the fight will happen and im sure it will, he just wants to milk the titles a little longer. Nicely put guys, am tired of “fans” like the ones on here with the He is scared or ducking stuff.

thurmans no slouch lol, i doubt hes scared of anyone. Agreed, just because he was brutally honest about Spence being hungrier than him doesn’t mean he is scared or ducking. We have seen this time and time again with posters, when are they going to learn? This fight would happen, it might not happen next but it would happen by late next year/ early 2019.

That's called being scared, princess... Scared of losing. Not scared, just knows its a tough fight with a big risk and doesnt want to jump in right away. Hes said the fight will happen and im sure it will, he just wants to milk the titles a little longer.

The problem here is that now this narrative that Thurman is scared of/ducking Spence has been created by the fans so no matter how he answers any questions people will jump to what they already have in their mind. Much like when fans were using group think to believe that Mayweather was scared of Pacquiao no matter what was going on behind the scenes. Thurman realizes he is in a position of power, he's the man at 147 and the unified champion while Spence is a title holder and the challenger. You don't aggressively call out the challenger, that's ridiculous and foolish. You let the challengers throw rocks at the throne and step down to face the best challenger, which undoubtedly will be Spence. The fight will happen, you can tell Thurman is even excited about facing a boogeyman the media is creating to destroy him. Just give my boy One Time credit when he makes that monster look average in the ring and takes that belt off him next year.

Spence hasn't been worth the risk for years just like Thurman wasn't for guys bigger then him back at his up & coming days. There is just some boxing math here that people are trying to deny exists or refuse to understand. Not saying its right, but its clearly a thing that f#cks with many up & coming guys getting their chances sooner rather than later. Now that Spence holds a title the odds of Spence vs Thurman happening goes up greatly doe & thats why this fight will happen next year. The only true excuse for not fighting someone is if that someone really hasn't earned a shot at the title through enough quality wins or a long volume of dominance, but Spence had arguably done the latter and already deserved a shot by the time people started accusing Thurman of dodging him.

The problem here is that now this narrative that Thurman is scared of/ducking Spence has been created by the fans so no matter how he answers any questions people will jump to what they already have in their mind. Much like when fans were using group think to believe that Mayweather was scared of Pacquiao no matter what was going on behind the scenes. Thurman realizes he is in a position of power, he's the man at 147 and the unified champion while Spence is a title holder and the challenger. You don't aggressively call out the challenger, that's ridiculous and foolish. You let the challengers throw rocks at the throne and step down to face the best challenger, which undoubtedly will be Spence. The fight will happen, you can tell Thurman is even excited about facing a boogeyman the media is creating to destroy him. Just give my boy One Time credit when he makes that monster look average in the ring and takes that belt off him next year.

Thurman probably wants the fight to marinate a little bit longer(Which is smart from a business standpoint and when Spence is more well known). Plus he probably wants 1-2 tuneups before they clash to get rid of his ring rust

Thurman has been ducking Spence FOR YEARS. It's not a recent development, and you know things are bad when Floyd Mayweather (The Duck Master) himself calls you out for dodging someone. Hope many fighters want to face Spence willingly ?

... but, instead, he didn't move up and took the fight!?! Dude didn't wanna lose face, I guess he reads forums like these where we all called he'd duck his mandatory and wanted to stick it to us, dude should have listened to his advisors rather than prove the critics wrong who called he'd lose to Spence.

Thurman-Spence is the fight on that side of the street, so they need to build it up. One of the ways to build a fight is make it seem like you don't want it while also keeping the bargaining hand strong. This works because it creates talk about the fight and fighters giving rub to everything. IF Thurman is just talking about a Spence fight which is not going to be next coming off an injury, that will create conversation to but people will talk just about the fight and there are really only so many places to go with that. Plus think about which conversation generate more heat here, are the threads about breaking down a great fight and the possibilities the big draws or is it the pissing contest speculating on stuff like which fighter wants the fights.

Everyone at WW know Spence is the real deal Thurman is the only one who downplays Spence, which i find weird. Thurman was praising Brook not too long ago, but he never gives Spence the same respect, even though Spence went on to destroy Brook You interview other WWs and they will say Spence is dangerous

It's no surprise he didn't want the fight, everyone who knows boxing could tell why he wanted to move to 154 with Spence mandated. ... but, instead, he didn't move up and took the fight!?!

TBH: Brook repeatedly said he would rather move up at 154... He had that choice but he actually took that fight... :) It's no surprise he didn't want the fight, everyone who knows boxing could tell why he wanted to move to 154 with Spence mandated.

Eh, boxing works in cycles with sh^t like this. I mean anyone who was following boxing just for the last 4 or so years remembers when Thurman WAS Spence. Eventually Spence will be in Thurman's position when he won't be able to fight all the guys dropping his name and dummies will say he's ducking and silly sh^t like that too and the same mfers saying Thurman is ducking now will say Spence is ducking then. Thurman has been ducking Spence FOR YEARS. It's not a recent development, and you know things are bad when Floyd Mayweather (The Duck Master) himself calls you out for dodging someone.

Spence was handsomely rewarded for his choice to travel, the question really is would Brook have fought him if he wasn't mandated, I think we all know he answer to that. TBH: Brook repeatedly said he would rather move up at 154... He had that choice but he actually took that fight... :)

... I also like Thurman a lot... ... but let me know if he would have traveled to the UK in order to fight Brook, as Spence did... :) Spence was handsomely rewarded for his choice to travel, the question really is would Brook have fought him if he wasn't mandated, I think we all know he answer to that.