Former WBA and WBC welterweight champion, Keith Thurman, likes the idea of a matchup with current undefeated WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford.
Thurman spoke with reporters in the post-fight press conference following his unanimous decision victory over Mario Barrios on Saturday night and gave his thoughts on potentially facing Crawford next for his WBO title.
“Well, you know, the fact that he’s a free agent should make things a little bit better,” Thurman said h/t (Boxing Scene). “Working with Bob is not fun for a lot of fighters. At the end of the day, I’m not sure. You know, you see what I’m wearing right now [a WBC medal]. You see what I’m representin’. They’ve been asking me for a long time, ‘Where are you ranked, Keith Thurman?’ And I say, ‘Pfft. I don’t know. I’m one of the best fighters in the world. Who cares what rank they give me, what number they give me, what position they give me?’ You know, I do wanna fight champions. I’m gonna be looking forward to getting in the ring with a champion. I want an opportunity to get a world title again. So, if [Crawford is] the best opportunity, I’ll take it. You know, I always loved great fights. I love making exciting fights in the welterweight division. But like I said, you see what I’m representin’ right now. So, this might be the ladder that I’m climbing. We know that Errol Spence-Yordenis Ugas, none of these fights woulda manifested if Keith Thurman didn’t lose to Manny Pacquiao. So, there was a shift in matchups once when I fell out of championship status. So, I had the WBA, I had the WBC. I relinquished the WBC. Nobody beat me for the WBC world title. You know, so those belts, I want back in my possession. I do like the fight with Terence Crawford, but we’ll just have to see what opens up, what really negotiates, how stubborn we get when it comes to what kind of split there is. You know, it’s just business from here on out. I do like the fight, though.”
----#ThurmanBarrios TONIGHT https://t.co/3Zu1Q7c92G pic.twitter.com/AFeEyvjGXi
— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) February 6, 2022
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