Comments Thread For: Lara-Zerafa WBA Middleweight Title Fight Set For March 30 On Inaugural PBC on Amazon Prime Show
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After letting it sink into my brain for a little bit, I have some other thoughts as well. In addition to what you said about the weight, with his age and inactivity he probably just can't make 147 anymore. And if he wants to finally get shots at Spence or Crawford he knows it's gonna have to be at 154 regardless. And a belt makes that more likely. And, to your point, beating Stanionis would set up an eventual showdown with Ennis, which Keith would have a better shot at beating Spence or Crawford at 154 than Ennis at 147. For the record, I think Crawford beats Ennis handily at 147 or 154, but I don't think Thurman can make 147 comfortably anymore so fighting guys closer to his age at 154 makes more sense.
As for "calculated risk", it's a HUGE risk for sure. Maybe calculated too, but I wonder if Haymon has Thurman in a "this is the fight you can have, take it or leave it" situation. To beat Tim would be amazing for Keith, but man that's a BIG ask.
As for the fleetness of foot advantage, yeah, Keith definitely has that. But, how long will that work out? Makes me think of Benavidez vs Andrade.
This card is basically the same thing they tried to roll out as the final PPV card for Showtime in December, just swapping out Tszyu for Stanionis and Zerafa for Danny Garcia.
As for the Andrade comparison, remember that Andrade was competing at his third weight, while Thurman will be moving up for the first time. It wasn't a good sign that Thurman couldn't put former 140lber Barrios away. Tszyu got knocked down by Gausha, but he took Mendoza's pretty well. Chances are that Thurman will have to box more than usual because he won't be able to "one-time" Tszyu. All I know is that Thurman better protect his body.
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Thurman is definitely in a "pick your poison" scenario. Tszyu has more name value than Stanionis, which is an important factor if they're gonna market this as PPV. It appears like Thurman will not fight unless it's on PPV...and Stanonis/Ennis don't fit the bill.
As for the Andrade comparison, remember that Andrade was competing at his third weight, while Thurman will be moving up for the first time. It wasn't a good sign that Thurman couldn't put former 140lber Barrios away. Tszyu got knocked down by Gausha, but he took Mendoza's pretty well. Chances are that Thurman will have to box more than usual because he won't be able to "one-time" Tszyu. All I know is that Thurman better protect his body.
You 100% right on Keith needing to protect the body because you KNOW Tim is gonna go there.Comment
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Unfortunately, Keith hasn't One-Time'd anybody in a Long-Time. But, hopefully he still has enough pop to keep TIm honest. When Keith fought Danny - back in the previous decade (wow!) - he sure kept Danny honest. Angel was constantly telling Danny in the corner to keep his right hand up to block the left hook.
You 100% right on Keith needing to protect the body because you KNOW Tim is gonna go there.
Keef gonna have eat edibles cause won’t be able to toke
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Unfortunately, Keith hasn't One-Time'd anybody in a Long-Time. But, hopefully he still has enough pop to keep TIm honest. When Keith fought Danny - back in the previous decade (wow!) - he sure kept Danny honest. Angel was constantly telling Danny in the corner to keep his right hand up to block the left hook.
You 100% right on Keith needing to protect the body because you KNOW Tim is gonna go there.Comment
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IIRC, Thurman came out in round 1 against Garcia like a bat out of hell. That may be the way he needs to approach Tszyu. Tim needs to warm up, so Thurman should come out aggressive and try to put Tim on the back-foot. I think Thurman's strategy will hinge on him being able to create traps and hurt Tim with a counter. He's gonna stick and move, trying to walk Tim onto something and he'll risk giving rounds away.Comment
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Absolutely and he's lucky to get it. It's been a long time since Keith was relevant. This could be his last decent payday. Tim is taking this fight as a stay busy because no one else seems to want to fight him at 154. At least he will have another former world champion's scalp on his resume, even if it's from a faded, inactive Thurman. Who knows when Jermell is going to come back to reality and defend his titles against his long overdue mandatory.Comment
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