Topic: Tim Tszyu vs Keith Thurman WBO super welterweight Title March 31 (Read 272 times)

It’s complete nonsense what the WBC is doing with all these world titles. Mendoza beat Fundora for the interim WBC title but he vacated it to fight Tszyu for the WBO title. Now Fundora, who is coming off a loss, gets to fight for the full WBC title that was stripped from Charlo. As for Mendoza, the WBC decided that having one 154 lb championship on this card isn’t enough so Mendoza will once again fight for the interim belt against Serhii Bohachuk on the preliminaries.

I thought that Brian Mendoza is the interim WBC belt holder for their version of 154 lbs. But it seems that Fundora vs Serhii Bohachuk as undercard is for the vacant belt. So I'm confused as to what happen to Mendoza. I would understand about Charlo, they could have stripped him and then elevated Brian. But if this fight push through, still might be as good as Tim vs Thurman. Fundora is 6'5 and that will be his advantage, if he knows how to use it as for sure Tim and his team doesn't want the fight to be in range. It should be the hard and grind fight that Tim is known for. Phone booth fight that no one is giving an inch but they are just throwing bombs in close distance. Good chance for Fundora though to have a belt if this is going for unification.

Too bad, and I think this could be the last straw for Thurman, he could be out again for this year and at his age of 35, it's probably that he is already lost some steps and no longer in his prime. That big loss to Manny could have really take a toll on him mentally.

Tim is the WBO champion and Fundora is on the WBC, not a champion but a rank fighter at #3.

Good test for Tim here, as Fundora is tall and lanky, but I'm seeing Tim will win by decision and will break down Fundora even if he has the height and length advantage.

Due to an injury, Keith Thurman has pulled out of this fight. Instead Tim Tszyu will face “The Towering Inferno” Sebastian Fundora. Fundora isn’t well known so it will be hard for this fight to sell PPVs but this should be a more competitive fight. Tszyu vs. Thurman would have been a catchweight non-title fight because the WBO didn’t consider Thurman as deserving but now Tszyu vs. Fundora will be for both the WBO and vacant WBC titles.

https://www.boxingscene.com/sebastian-fundora-comes-replace-injured-keith-thurman-against-tim-tszyu-on-march-30--182215

Only two weeks before the fight, and there's this announcement that the winner of this fight may have a chance to fight Crawford.


KEITH THURMAN-TIM TSZYU WINNER MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO FIGHT TERENCE CRAWFORD

This is added motivation for these two to go all out as Crawford is considered one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters he is the undisputed welterweight champion and has a big attraction on ticket sales.

Thurman has been chasing Crawford for many years, and for Tszyu this is a big leap in his career if he beats Thurman and sets a match against Crawford, he will bypass Janis Ennis who is considered the only fighter who could give Crawford a good fight.

Every Thurman fight is very entertaining in the press conference, he was so amusing in his match against Pacquiao and he's at it again, obviously, Tszyu is very annoyed he has been against trash talkers but it's hard to deal with a trash talker like Thurman he always beat you.

I guess Thurman has mastered the art of thrash talking, It is good for the fight, boxing fans want to see action and a lot of talks in the press release and Thurman can provide that and this will sell the fight.
But of course, fight fans want to see action so it is very interesting to see how both fighters will react to the earlier thrash talk can Thurman that Tszyu is slow and flatfooted, and can Tszyu chase and eventually knock Thurman out?
It's still a month away but we'll see more thrash talks coming from both parties.

Thurman is being Thurman on this press conference and keeps praising himself, making us believe that he is still the great Thurman that we've known, I just don't like that he's belittling Tszyu's achievement and capability as if he is so sure that he can beat Tszyu and its good to know that Tzsyu is not even bothered by Thurman's thrash talking he even call Tszyu as an Australian with a Mexican style belittling Mexican boxers as slow and flatfooted, this is disrespecting Mexican boxers.
I hope Tszyu punishes Thurman like Pacquiao did, I'm sure on fight night many Mexicans will be rooting for Tszyu because of what Thurman said against the Mexican boxers.

For me it's obvious that he no longer interested on boxing, and that's why he was been out for 2 years. His injury really did it for him because when he come back, it was a different Thurman, his power is no longer there and maybe just boxing around for the money. His lost to Manny already proved that his motivate and fire might be really gone and after that he was on/off in boxing. Obviously he can still run his mouth in this fight, but as far as performance, Tszyu being the younger and the champion might have the advantage here. Let's watch here the kick-off press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTOgKPSpch4

Thurman's prime was 7 years ago when he was beating Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Robert Guerrero. It is debatable how good he still is but not many people would still consider him in his prime. The fight against Pacquiao came when Manny was 40 years old and at the very end of his career. Manny had one more fight afterwards and he didn't look good at all.

Inactivity doesn't always affect fighters in a negative way but this is the third time Thurman's had a 2-year layoff in his career. This tells us he is not fully committed to boxing. He showed no interest in fighting Spence or Crawford when the opportunity was there. Tszyu is a younger and hungrier fighter. Thurman doesn't have any real experience at this weight class either. Tszyu might not be considered extraordinary but he is good enough to beat Thurman at this stage of his career.

The fact is not all inactive boxers struggle on their next fight. In fact, if you look at his record, he fought Manny Pacquiao last 2019, had his next fight in 2022 and he still win beating Mario Barrios in a unanimous decision, and this guy Mario Barrios is not a leftover since he beat Yordenis Ugas the guy that beat Manny Pacquiao that Beat Thurman, so it's like they are on a circle of great boxers here.

Maybe it's a factor as a disadvantage on his part, but not such a huge factor to consider on why Thurman can't beat Tim Tszyu in his championship fight. Thurman was even a pound for pound star in the past, not sure about Tim Tszyu though.

I don't think his loss to Pacquiao is why people(or at least on this thread) think Thurman will lose this fight, I think it most likely has something to do with the fact that he was inactive for almost 2 years and his age(I think) and believe it or not, being inactive for that long will have an impact on a boxer, but it will still depend on the boxer. also, the fact that he is fighting a title holder right after his inactivity will make people doubt his ability to win(which is very understandable).

Saw the massive decline in people's opinion about Keith Thurman lol. I honestly think he'd be able to win this fight.

For instance, let's talk about that 1 loss record against Tszyu's 0. At a first glance you'd think Thurman's loss completely tarnishes his record, but when you realize that he lost to Manny Pacquiao, arguably one of the most powerful boxers of our time, you'd realize that people aren't cutting him that much slack. You have to realize that's Pacman. If Tszyu's put in Thurman's place in my opinion he wouldn't even be able to hold a candle against Pacquiao as good as Thurman did (and the guy was folded like a chinese food menu).

Thurman also has a higher KO ratio against the Tszyu's. That's something to talk about my friend. I'm guessing Thurman's gonna knock the lights out of the guy if given the chance and this is not a fight to just disregard. And being inactive for almost two year's not gonna do much dent on Thurman's speed and style, pretty sure the guy didn't slumped himself on their couch and fattened himself up like a thanksgiving goose all those months so I don't think there's much concern about that. He's still the same fighter all in all.

Regardless of who wins or loses though, I think both these fighters are gonna put up a good fight and we might see a blockbuster boxing match right here. As OP mentioned both fighters are still pretty much in their primes and they have little to lose this early in their career so we might see these being the new Marquez Pacquiao rivalry of this season if not our era lol.

looks like this is gonna be a tough fight for Thurman, being inactive for 23 months and being 35 years old would definitely affect his speed. that being said, this will be an interesting fight to see, I'd like to see how Thurman will fair against a younger fighter(who is also known for having accurate and powerful punches) after being inactive for 23 months and I'd like to see how Tim Tszyu will fair against Thurman(I really hope Thurman has his speed during the match).

it's not really surprising after finding out the guy was inactive for a while.

If only Thurman had a tune-up fight, things would have been different, but since the layoff is two years, the ring rust will be a big factor here, I don't think Thurman can keep up with the challenge, he is fighting a strong, motivated champion in Tszyu and we don't know if Thurman is the same Thurman that fought Barrios, Thurman also has a flaws in his game and with that ring rust it will be exploited, anyway he will have an excuse after the fight and is his ring rust or long lay off.

The majority of us here including me, don't believe that he can beat Tim Tszyu, a guy who just came out with an impressive challenger in Harisson, I don't know the state of conditioning Thurman has, maybe we have something that we don't know so he takes this fight, maybe he's been conditioning all this time.

I'm sure Thurman is fully aware of Tszyu's background, recent fights, and style so let's give him the benefit of the doubt if he can take Tim and prove himself as a deserving challenger, this is a title fight who would not want to have a crack of the title.

There's no harm in trying as long as you don't bet an amount you can't afford to lose. Whatever he is doing to stay fit, we just have to trust him on that part. But we can't deny the fact that Thurman only have one loss which is from Manny Pacquioa.

Compared to Pacquioa and Tszyu, I think the former was the better since he is now a legend, he has power and quickness, and yet Thurmand did have a good and competitive fight with him.



Thurman wanted to become a champion again, he's been saying that, so we will see if he can make it happen against a younger and very active champion.

And I really thought that the old man will have the first crack at Rolly Romero, after their controversial fight, early stoppage and it seems that Barroso is not that hurt or recovered very quickly after the initial barrage of punches from Romero. But I guess PBC doesn't want Romero to be damage early and so they try to match against the smaller Isaac Cruz who I think can also pull a upset if the check that Romero's chin. So Rolly is in no man's land, but as I champion, he has to defend that belt and all in house money again. And it is also puzzling why Lara is still fighting though, I thought he has hang his gloves for sometime now. But obviously I'm wrong, he can move up in weight if I'm not mistaken.

Thurman is a decent tuneup opponent for Tim Tszyu but for it being the main event of their inaugural Amazon Prime show it is kind of underwhelming.  It was just announced that the WBO refused to sanction it for their title, which is good news because Thurman didn't deserve that opportunity. He doesn't have any experience at junior middleweight and has only fought once in 4.5 years.

Also, making it a PPV is ridiculous. This isn't a fight people want to pay extra for. It might get a few buys in Australia but it's going to limit your visibility everywhere else.

It's puzzling why Erislandy Lara, who is on the undercard, was given a world title for beating a really weak opponent and then allowed to keep it despite not fighting for 2 years.

The co-main event is somewhat interesting. Rolando Romero, another WBA paper champion, will be facing Isaac Cruz. Since losing to Tank, their careers have been disappointing. The winner will be mandated to fight Ismael Barroso. It wouldn't be too surprising if the old man managed to beat either of them.

Remember that Thurman went into a operation, and if I'm not mistaken, it's about on his shoulder. He made a comeback, was not quite impressed by it and others might say that he could have lost to Josesito Lopez. Then next, he target Pacquiao and I think that is his biggest mistakes as everyone thought that a young lion as he is, he could beat Manny that time as he is old. But it was the other way around, took a long layoff again, make a comeback, fought Mario Barrios.

Another not so good performance for him, supposedly to fight Errol Spence at '54, but then it was Spence vs Crawford, for one of the biggest fight late last year.

Now, Thurman's make a comeback, after almost 2 years of inactivity. so you'll be the judge if you think that Thurman can make a big comeback against a prime Tim Tszyu at his most comfortable weight class and very much active chasing to be a champion at 154 lbs.

With all his inactivity, this is pretty much reasonable, people would try to tempt to bet on thurman knowing his track records unless the inactivity is due to the concern of injury or similar and will affect his future fights and this is the fight.

I will not be so easy about on this if i'm on the Tim's side, Thurman get seeking this stage and would probably do his best to startup again his career.

don't get too confident that Thurman won't give a good fight on this, because do remember at one point on his boxing career, he had a very good performance. so if thurman wants to come back on this sports, for sure, he will do his part as well. so let us see what he's got this time. for Tszyu, don't get too complacent on this fight. it maybe a tune-up fight but if his opponent is indeed serious for his comeback, he can give a toe-to-toe fight inside the ring.

for those who believe Thurman has a chance of upset. you can very well place your bets on him as he is the heavy underdog on this match. even small bet can give you quite a profit if thurman managed to have an upset
look at the current odds at stake -

This fight looks like preparation or a tune fight for a Tszyu - Crawford fight and Thurman is a sacrificial lamb for this, a champion and up-and-coming fighter fresh from a decisive win three months ago pitted against a guy who has a long layoff of 23 months is just not good in the eyes of boxing fans, Thurman will have big obstacles of trying to shrug off that 23 months lay off and Tszyu will not give him a chance.

One big concern here is the stamina if ever the fight goes to the championship rounds like round 10,11,12 Tim will have an advantage because of his youth and conditioning, Thurman and his team should all be aware of this, it's a bad scenario for Keith.

No Tszyu vs Crawford anymore because of this match. This is the first fight to be showcased by Amazon/PBC and all they could come up with is Thurman who had been so dormant for a long time. There were lots of fighters signing a deal with PBC but Thurman being the main event was much unexpected and it's a mismatch.
Erislandy Lara and Michael Zerafa are among the card. This one is a fair fight.

 

I'm also looking at a long lay off as a big factor 23 months is just too long for a fighter to get a title shot at a champion that just coming out of successful defend of his title against a tough challenger in Tony Harrison and this was only 3 months ago, he is still fresh and his body is in good condition, compared to Thurman who will have to struggle with ring rust.

I'm not yet giving up on Thurman although he has a long lay off he did not show signs of aging or fading on his last fight against Barrios, although I have no argue on him being an underdog, because Tim is a strong fighter up and coming fighter and the ring rust will add to that disadvantage, looking forward to their first press conference and let's see if Thurman will thrash talk Tszyu just like he did against Pacquiao.

Thurman has been eying for a big fight and here it is. For him to get this kind of fight despite a long layoff, that only tells tha the is still capable even at his age. Thurman is now 35 years old, while Tim Tszyu is 29 years, huge age disparity but I trust Thurman to give  Tim Tszyu a real challenge.

If Thurman was more active, maybe people will be seeing Thurman to be the favorite here, but since he is the challenger and he is moving up, I understand now why he is the underdog.


Or could be the other way around. here's my take, Thurman wants to prove to the world that he is still here, he can still fight and can win a championship. A loss here might say goodbye to his career, so I'll bet on him to win with that attractive moneyline odds.

So Thurman is going to 154 lbs now? It's good though, I mean as he age, he might have issues making 147 lbs. However, he will be given a nod to fight for the belt at his new weight class, lucky for him.

One thing that might go against him is the long layoff. He could experience what we call ring rust. But Tim Tszyu has been in this weight class for sometime now and supposedly be fighting Charlo for unification. I check the rankings, and Charlo holds the WBA and WBC (together with Brian Mendoza).

I think Tim might beat Thurman though, maybe Keith is about to hit his sunset in boxing for being so inactive and can't pull the trigger anymore.

Another interesting fight to watch this year. Although Tim Tszyu is very active while Keith Thurman seemed not anymore on his prime due to his long inactivity in boxing, I still think that he is a very dangerous fighter. He doesn't have another loss aside from Pacman which was on a split decision, so he hasn't really dominated in boxing yet.

They have more than 2 months to train, not sure what's the standard but they have an ample time to train so no boxer will make an excuse after the fight.

I was checking for the betting odds, and it seems like Thurman here is a heavy dog.

https://www.oddschecker.com/boxing/tim-tszyu-v-keith-thurman/winner

Thurman is 5/1..

Tim Tszyu  will battle Keith Thurman for the WBO super welterweight Title on March 31 in Las Vegas

This is promises to be a very good fight as both fighters are still in the prime of his career and both fighters have similar style of fighting, this is going to be the biggest test on Tim Tszyu career

Tszyu is undefeated while Thurman only loss one against the great Manny Pacquiao but between the two Tszyu is the more active having fought 3 months ago against Brian mendoza

While Thurman has a long absence in the ring he has not fought for 23 months and his last fight a unanimous decision win against Mario Barrios

So who do you bet to win in this match



Tim Tszyu’s huge next fight reportedly locked in for Vegas spectacular in biggest test yet