Former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman looks close to having his ring return confirmed as he gears up to face a reigning super-welterweight world champion.
The 36-year-old from Clearwater, Florida made his long-awaited return to the ring back in March after a three year hiatus, stopping Australia’s Brock Jarvis in the third round of their showdown at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.
Thurman had previously held the unified WBC and WBA world welterweight titles up until he was dethroned by Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao back in 2019, suffering the first and so far only defeat of his professional career in the process.
He had been on a fine run of form up until he was beaten by Pacquiao, racking up impressive victories over two-time champion Shawn Porter and two-weight champion Danny Garcia.
After it was confirmed that ‘One Time’ would be campaigning at super-welterweight going forward, the 36-year-old looks to have been given the chance to become a two-weight world champion himself later this year.
As reported by Boxing Scene, Thurman looks set to challenge reigning WBC world super-welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora on Saturday October 18 at an unconfirmed venue in Las Vegas, Nevada. The same report suggests the fight will be on a Prime Video pay-per-view card, with both men under the PBC banner.
Fundora, known more commonly as ‘The Towering Inferno’, had also held the WBC 154lb up until he was stripped in May when he refused to face mandatory challenger Xander Zayas, who recently captured the vacant title with a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Garcia Perez in New York City.
In the most recent defence of his WBO super-welterweight crown, Fundora stopped Australia’s Tim Tszyu in the seventh round of their rematch, just over one year on from their first encounter, which Fundora won by split decision.
