By Jake Donovan
It’s not the sacrifice he’d want to make again, but Keith Thurman couldn’t be more pleased with the state of the game to which he returned following a near two-year absence.
The unbeaten welterweight titlist was fond of the direction both his career and the sport were heading following a March 2017 title unification win over Danny Garcia, which aired live in primetime on free-to-air CBS. Financially, it pales in comparison to where boxing is at in present day.
“It’s a beautiful time to be a fighter and a fight fan,” Thurman (29-0, 22KOs) told BoxingScene.com, speaking truly from experience given what lies ahead. The 30-year old Florida native will put his title on the line versus former eight-division titlist–and current secondary titleholder—Manny Pacquiao atop a July 20 Fox Sports Pay-Per-View event in Las Vegas.
The bout is Thurman’s second since returning to the ring earlier this year, scoring a 12-round win over Josesito Lopez in his rust-shaker this past January. The fight was more competitive than most figured to be the case, but ended with Thurman remaining an unbeaten titlist.
It was enough to land a dream opportunity versus Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39KOs), the legendary Filipino who served as one-half of the most lucrative event in boxing history. Despite suffering a 12-round loss to Floyd Mayweather, still walked away with a hefty nine-figure payday from the May 2015 event which generated more than $600 million in revenue.
While that marked while likely remain intact for years to come, present day boxers are collecting paydays never imaginable by most. It even remains surprising to Thurman, who headlined the first-ever Premier Boxing Champions (PBC)-branded event with his March 2015 NBC-televised points win over Robert Guerrero.
PBC has since secured lucrative long-term deals with Showtime and Fox Sports, both of with whom they have enjoyed—and continue to enjoy—lengthy relationships.
Meanwhile, ESPN has invested heavily into the sport, with Top Rank Inc. having signed an exclusive and rich pact in 2017, which has since been renewed and extended through 2025. Last fall came the launch of sports streaming platform DAZN, which has allocated an annual nine-figure budget in attempting to make a major splash in its infancy.
“When Floyd was in the sport and at the top, he was regularly making this ridiculous amount of money,” recalls Thurman, who chased the now retired superstar for more than two years while developing as a top welterweight in his own right. “He proved with Manny that when you have the right two fighters, you can create almost a billion-dollar event.
“But now that he’s out, even more is being accomplished. All of boxing is doing well. Networks and (streaming) platforms are feuding with each other to land to land the best fights and fighters. It’s just such a great time to be a fighter—and a fight fan.”
Ironcially, Thurman will make more in 2019 alone than he probably stood to clear in the two years combined he was on the sidelines healing from separate injuries.
A big part of that comes not just from the elevated financial aspect of the game but the resurgence of Pacquiao, whom even at 40 years old remains a highly relevant welterweight—which says a lot given the division’s depth.
“It’s an exciting time,” admits Thurman. “Two years ago I was inactive, 28 years old and watching two years of my prime go by with nothing to show for it. Now that I’m back, the guys who are fighting each other (Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia), I beat those guys already.
“There are only a select few at the top who I haven’t faced. Manny Pacquiao is one of these fighters and is the highest value (at welterweight.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox