By: Hans Themistode
There’s something about the resume of Errol Spence Jr. that looks awfully familiar. From Leonard Bundu to Shawn Porter to Danny Garcia, they all share one thing in common. They’ve suffered defeats at the hands of both Errol Spence Jr. and Keith Thurman.
Not only have the pair shared the ring with many of the same fighters but currently, the manner in which they won those fights are eerily similar. While names such as WBO welterweight belt holder Terence Crawford and future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao are amongst the elite, it is Spence Jr. who currently holds two of the four major world titles.
Although the Dallas native has run through many of the top names, Thurman simply yawns as he’s been there done that. If Spence Jr. truly wants to separate himself from the pack, then he’ll lace up his boxing gloves and take him on instead.
“He’s fought a lot of my competition but he hasn’t fought me yet,” said Thurman during an interview with Pro Boxing Fans. “What kind of statement is he really trying to make in the welterweight division?”
Long before the powerful southpaw held two major world titles, the WBA and WBC belts rested safely on Thurman’s audacious shoulders. At one point in time, a mega showdown between them was all the rage in the welterweight division. However, with Thurman suffering numerous injuries and long stretches on the sidelines, the interest in their contest has seemingly died down.
Thurman on the other hand, is firmly of the belief that if they at long last stood across the ring from one another, their clash would be an instant classic.
“He is a great champion but I do think when we clash, it’ll be one of the biggest in the welterweight division.”
For as badly as Thurman wants to get his hands on Spence Jr., the feeling isn’t exactly mutual. After spending years calling him out, Spence Jr. has now shown no interest in facing Thurman, even going as far as to say “that sh*t ain’t happening.”
For the former unified champion, however, he long planned on facing Spence Jr., he simply ran into a roadblock in Manny Pacquiao. The 42-year-old handed Thurman the first defeat of his career in July of 2019. Since then, he’s remained inactive as he recovers from hand surgery. With everything pointing in the right direction in terms of his health, Thurman believes building up their showdown is no longer needed. In fact, if it was up to him, he’d get Spence Jr. in the ring as soon as humanly possible.
“I think we’ve waited long enough. I would really like to make that fight happen as soon as possible. The whole goal after the Pacquiao fight was to go after Spence anyways. That was going to be the next big major fight. I’d be happy to make it happen this year.”