Keith Thurman returns after a three-year absence to fight junior middleweight Brock Jarvis on March 12 at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia.
Fans believe the reason Thurman got off the couch after another one of his extended breaks is this: that he it smells like saudi money And wants to get in on the action while he still can.
Thurman unreliable
“One Time” Thurman, 36, is still relatively young in terms of boxing, but he is very unreliable due to his fragile body. Even if he makes it to the ring, when are you going to see him next? 3 years? Unlike other fighters, Thurman doesn’t live his life.
Thurman (30-1, 22 KO) must win this fight against 27-year-old Jarvis (22-1, 20 KO) to have a chance to potentially be picked up by Turki Al-Sheikh to fight one of his cards. Although Thurman looked good in his last fight, coming off a 2 1/2 year layoff to beat Mario Barrios in 2022, he may not have similar results this time. He is no longer 33 years old.
“He (Thurman) hasn’t fought since 2022. I don’t know how serious he is. Keith has been a part-time boxer for six years (correction: eight). One fight per year. No fight per year. I don’t know what he wants to accomplish by coming back. I don’t know what he has left,” Ade Oladipo told DAZN Boxing about Keith Thurman making his return after three years out of the ring to face Brock Jarvis on March 12 in Sydney, Australia.
“It’s a name, it’s a presence. He could fight some newcomers. Keith probably looks at Division 147 and thinks, “That’s pretty thin.” I can go there and all of a sudden make money at Riyadh Season and do some damage.
“I kind of lost interest in the Keith Thurman story a few years ago when he stopped fighting, and I wanted him to fight. I was desperate for him to fight and he just didn’t want to fight. My interest in Keith Thurman has been lost for three or four years.
Everyone lost interest in Thurman many years ago when he stopped being a full-time boxer after his 12-round split decision victory over Danny Garcia on March 4, 2017. Thurman was injured in that fight, suffering from an elbow injury. He then stayed out of the ring for a year and a half, licking his wounds and doing nothing.
Thurman’s last 3 fights
Mario Barrios: February 5, 2022
Manny Pacquiao: July 20, 2019
Josesito López: January 26, 2019
Eyes on Saudi money?
“If you’re Keith Thurman and he hasn’t fought in a few years, he’s probably thinking, ‘You know what? Let’s just have a camp and see how I feel. Let’s go.’ So if I’m Keith, I can see why he’s doing that, but I just don’t know if it’s still there,” Ade said.
“Then again, when you haven’t fought in a few years, is it still there?” I don’t know. I hope it’s because it’s exciting. He talks a lot, but let’s see if it’s there. I don’t know if Brock Jarvis will prove it’s there, but let’s see. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but let’s see,” Ade said.
Thurman is obviously hoping that Turki Al-Sheikh will notice him and want to pay him millions to fight on some of his Riyadh season cards. At 36 years old, Thurman is young compared to some of the fighters on Turki’s cards. He is younger than Deontay Wilder and Terence Crawford.
“One Time” Thurman is very unreliable though, due to his injury issues, and it would be a waste of time for him to be used by Turki on his cards. If Keith can’t get through training camps without sustaining an injury, there’s no point in using him. I would be very surprised if Thurman makes it through his fight against Brock Jarvis on March 12 without suffering an injury that would cause the fight to be postponed or canceled.