Thurman: 'If Barrios had invested in a body shot, I might have been on the floor'

Keith Thurman after his victory by unanimous decision over Mario Barrios admitted last Saturday that Barrios' left hook to the body hurt him in the eighth round. The former WBA/WBC welterweight world champion explained that he has also missed stronger body shots in his career, but suspects that Barrios could have sent him to the floor if his taller and stronger opponent had invested more in this hit.

Thurman also admitted that he had pain in the torso in the area of ​​​​the liver even before the fight in the locker room.

“It was weird. I won’t lie,” Thurman said at a press conference after the fight. - Before the fight, I was sitting and feeling that my torso hurt from the bandage. It was strange. I thought: “It would be better if they didn’t beat me there.” I know everyone is talking about me and body shots - blah blah blah. But maybe it has something to do with weight loss. Maybe something happened, maybe my liver is a little sensitive. But I try not to think about it. I believe that if you hit a good hit, then it will be a good hit. It’s just that body shots are a little different.”

“But you know, if I take a deep breath, I can still feel discomfort in the liver area. As I said, I felt it even before the fight. Therefore, one blow definitely evoked a slight sensation of discomfort and pain. But it wasn't the strongest blow I've ever missed. If he could have invested a little harder, a little deeper, he might have been able to knock me out,” Thurman added.

Manny Pacquiao nearly dropped Thurman to the floor when he too landed a left hook to the body midway through the 10th round during their fight in July 2019, which Pacquiao won by split decision.

Thurman compared Pacquiao's punch to the one Luis Collazo landed on him late in the fifth round of their fight in July 2015. Collazo's body shot came late in the round, while Pacquiao's shot shook Thurman around the middle of round 10.

Barrios' body shot also landed relatively early in the eighth round. Thurman was able to resist and beat Barrios by a wide margin on all three judges' scorecards.

“A lot of guys who were doing good body shots almost put me on the brink of early defeat,” admitted Thurman. - But still they couldn't knock me out. Neither Pacquiao, nor Mario, nor Luis Collazo, nor Sean Porter succeeded in this. Sean was not so good. I know that I looked bad. The commentators seized on the fact that I was in pain. Actually, I didn't feel pain. But the other three shots that I missed and that you guys saw on replays shocked me."