Keith Thurman, the 36-year-old boxer from Florida, got back in the ring after a long break. He won his comeback fight in March 2023, beating Brock Jarvis in Sydney.
Thurman stopped Jarvis in the third round at The Hordern Pavilion. The fight was at super-welterweight, marking Thurman's return after three years away from boxing. His last fight before that was against Mario Barrios, who's now the WBC welterweight champion and will face Manny Pacquiao on July 19.
Speaking of Pacquiao, he's the only fighter to beat Thurman. That happened in 2019 when Pacquiao won a split decision and took Thurman's WBA welterweight title. At 40 years old, Pacquiao became the oldest world welterweight champion. Now, he's looking to break his own record in the upcoming fight with Barrios.
Thurman, known as "One Time", recently shared his thoughts on the hardest puncher he's faced. In a video interview, he said:
"Pacquiao, he does hit hard, he hits fast, but as a welterweight it's not the hardest punch I've ever felt. The hardest punch I ever felt coming from a little guy like Pacquiao, I never felt power from a little guy, the way I felt it from Pacquiao, but Danny Garcia the way he plants his feet and it's almost like a power card. The way he develops torque into his punches, he's not even a real welterweight and to me he was the hardest hitting welterweight that I faced."
Thurman beat Garcia eight years ago. Garcia, a two-division champion, recently moved up to middleweight. His last fight was for the WBA middleweight championship against Erislandy Lara in September. Lara stopped Garcia at the end of the ninth round. While Garcia hasn't officially retired, many think he might be close to hanging up his gloves.
As for Thurman, he's back in action and looking to climb the ranks once again. His only loss remains against Pacquiao, and he's keen to show he's still a force in the welterweight division.
