WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) is looking to work his way back from a very long layoff.
Thurman has been out of the ring since March of 2017, when he won a twelve round split decision over Danny Garcia to unify the WBC, WBA world titles. He eventually lost the WBC title due to inactivity.
He's finally back in the ring on January 26th, when he defends his title against veteran welterweight Josesito Lopez at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Thurman's inactivity was due in part to several injuries that were suffered.
"I feel great physically. We're working really hard and just getting back into everything we did before the injury. It feels tremendous and I'm so happy to be able to do this back in Brooklyn. January 26, you will see the return of the number one welterweight in the world," Thurman said.
"I need to come back and stay active and healthy. I'm going to remind everyone this year why I'm one of the baddest men on the planet. At the end of the day, I'm here to make a statement that 'One Time' is back. I have one belt, and I'm missing one belt. I'm going to re-establish my own accomplishments this year, then go from there. We're taking it one fight at a time."
While fans are eager to see Thurman in much bigger fights - he wants to eventually face the best fighters in the weight class - like Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Terence Crawford and several others.
"I'm a world-class fighter. I've fought through injuries my whole career. A real fighter ends up getting addicted to the game. There's nothing better in this life than being under those lights and being part of the action. My legacy is not over. Unification against Danny Garcia was not enough for me. Ultimately, I'm just waiting to be presented with a man who is better than me. There might not be one, but I'm not afraid to let my '0' go," Thurman said.
"I need fights like this against a guy like Josesito Lopez. He's going to be there and give the fans a great fight. He's coming to take me out. He looked like he was in shape a month ago when I first saw him. It's been a long time and I'm truly honored to be back. It's been hard for me to not be in the ring while I wait for the elbow to recover. I'm so happy to be back."
