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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - It’s a funny thing about fight people.
When it comes to guys climbing to the elite rungs on the status ladder, the folks in the stands won’t sign off until matches have been made with foes capable of providing a push.
Problem is, when those pushes finally come – and even if they’re overcome – those same fans quickly exit the bandwagons, suggesting that anything less than full invincibility equates to fraud.
Such was the case, for at least some, on Saturday night in Tampa, Fla.
There, just a clogged highway drive from his hometown in Clearwater, would-be superstar Keith Thurman climbed in with a guy – 34-year-old Luis Collazo – who’d held a belt, been denied a decision or two and had generally been described as a “tough out” by any who’d encountered him.
The match with the New Yorker was Thurman’s third since a prolonged injury-related absence. And the eighth-round surrender he induced while far ahead on all scorecards provided a third straight victory over opponents who’d brought 99 wins, 48 knockouts and three world titles with them to the ring.
On the surface, it seemed all the versatile validation he needed.
But by the time the parking lots had cleared out, the whispers had begun. [Click Here To Read More]
When it comes to guys climbing to the elite rungs on the status ladder, the folks in the stands won’t sign off until matches have been made with foes capable of providing a push.
Problem is, when those pushes finally come – and even if they’re overcome – those same fans quickly exit the bandwagons, suggesting that anything less than full invincibility equates to fraud.
Such was the case, for at least some, on Saturday night in Tampa, Fla.
There, just a clogged highway drive from his hometown in Clearwater, would-be superstar Keith Thurman climbed in with a guy – 34-year-old Luis Collazo – who’d held a belt, been denied a decision or two and had generally been described as a “tough out” by any who’d encountered him.
The match with the New Yorker was Thurman’s third since a prolonged injury-related absence. And the eighth-round surrender he induced while far ahead on all scorecards provided a third straight victory over opponents who’d brought 99 wins, 48 knockouts and three world titles with them to the ring.
On the surface, it seemed all the versatile validation he needed.
But by the time the parking lots had cleared out, the whispers had begun. [Click Here To Read More]
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