Why Keith Thurman Epitomizes the Up-And-Comer

Keith "One Time" Thurman wants to fight again very soon. Just how soon? How's early summer - or even the late spring - sound? Oh, he's made it clear that he's willing to be patient, but only for guys who can give him a challenge. And what kind of guys are those?

Guys named Brook. Or Bradley. Or Maidana. Or Berto. But especially Brook. Make no mistake about it, Keith Thurman epitomizes the up-and-comer, a young man willing to get it on with the best to prove he's the best. In a sense, Thurman's the opposite of Leo Santa Cruz, a man who, nice as he is (and, trust me, Santa Cruz is pretty nice) just doesn't appear to be interested in challenging himself now that he's achieved a certain level of success.

What's more, Thurman is a character. He's as apt to go out and play what looks like a woodwind instrument as he is to bust someone in the ring. He's also extremely loyal to the memory of his late mentor, Ben Getty - so much so that it's reminiscent of Tyson and Cus D'Amato. In other words, the dangerous welterweight has a personality to match his talent.

The question of where Thurman will stand after the dust settles in the Wild West show that is now the welterweight division remains to be seen. Yet it's a question Thurman himself is as eager to find the answer to as anyone else. And that's what makes the dude exciting.

Truth be told, I don't know how Thurman would end up against the likes of Tim Bradley or Kell Brook. That's no knock on Thurman, by the way. It's high praise for how good the division is right now. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if One Time bested either or both men. He's just a promising contender, no two ways about it.

The good, or bad, news for Thurman is that he appears to be fighting in the dawn of a golden age for boxing. Let's face it, things are looking good for the fight game right now. To say the sport may well be starting a great new era for itself isn't hyperbole.

What all that means, however, is that Thurman will either end up being Ray Leonard or Ernie Shavers. Leonard, after all, rose to the top (albeit controversially) of a Hall of Fame heap. Shavers, on the other hand, had the misfortune of being an A-list heavyweight in an A-plus era. Shavers is still remembered fondly, however.

And, the way things are going, people are going to remember Thurman, as well.

Khan, Algieri, Bradley, Brook, And A Whole Lot Of Chaos

There's a lot to ponder here.

While the world waits eagerly for Manny and Floyd to step inside the ring on May 2nd, another battle is heating up in the welterweight division. Unlike the Mayweather-Pacquiao scrap, however, this fight isn't going down in a ring. It's going down in court - the court of public opinion. And, needless to say, it's all a bit confusing.

Let's start of with Amir Khan, an extremely talented Brit who has been longing for a major bout. With Manny and Floyd fighting each other, and Miguel Cotto focusing his attention elsewhere (and with Roc Nation Sports), the man has yet again been left to look for less lucrative matches.

Fellow Englishman Kell Brook is obviously dying for a match with Khan, however, as it would be an enormous deal across the pond, as well as being internationally relevant and, well, interesting. Yet Khan doesn't seem to have been biting, arguing that it's unfeasible for him to get into the ring with Brook just yet.

So Khan has gone and declared his next opponent will be the talented Chris Algieri, who lost a one sided battle to Pacquiao last autumn, but who still possess a significant New York fan base and who, to this writer's mind, still has a potentially bright future to look forward to, as well. Unfortunately for both men, however, no one seems to want this fight to happen.

That probably has more to do with the potential excitement factor than it does with anything else.

Fans would, for instance, most likely tune in to see a PBC card where Khan fought Keith Thurman and Algieri battled, say, Adrien Broner. For those would be unique matchups. Khan-Algieri, on the other hand, just doesn't seem to promise a whole lot of excitement. Again, it's not either man the fans don't like, it's the stylistic combination of the two.

So no one's particularly happy with idea of Khan facing Algieri. To make matters worse for Khan, however, the name of the formidable Timothy Bradley has now entered into the mix. For the IBF has apparently claimed it presented a potential Khan-Bradley elimantor and that Khan ignored them. Khan, needless to say, argues otherwise.

To argue that this is descending into chaos may be an overstatement, but it can't possibly make anyone involved too happy at the moment. Of course, I have an idea which might solve everyone's problems, an idea which will undoubtedly never come to fruition.

Why not have Khan face Thurman while Algieri drops down to face Broner and Brook defends his title against Brandon Rios? Heck, throw in the Bradley-Cornelius Bundrage fight we've been hearing about and you've got yourself a decent card.

Like I said, though, it will never happen. It's better for people to point accusing fingers at others, after all.

Is Kathy Duva Right About Adonis Stevenson?

Will we ever know the answer? 

So sure, Adonis Stevenson won against Sakio Bika in Canada this weekend in dominant fashion. Take nothing from "Superman." The guy's good. He's strong, he hits hard, he's certainly not slow and he knows how to control the ring.

Just how good is he, however?

Kathy Duva has made it clear that she thinks Stevenson's not all that great, that he's apt to lose sooner or later, be it against her fighter Sergey Kovalev or against another, less heralded opponent. Could this be true?

Let's think about that.

Stevenson, after all, tends to get hit. Sure, Kovalev gets hit, too, but not like Stevenson does. Bika walloped him on numerous occasions, after all. Indeed, it was hard not to imagine how things would have turned out had it been Kovalev - or even Jean Pascal - firing those rights at Stevenson this weekend.

On the other hand, Stevenson does have that incredible power. It's hard to forget about what he did to Chad Dawson a while back, actually. It's also good to keep in mind that Stevenson has battled the likes of Travoris Cloud and Tony Bellew, as well. Those guys weren't exactly jokes.

Yet it's hard to get over the fact that Stevenson had such a hard time last year against Andrzej Fonfara. It's also worth noting that Stevenson looked like he might be running out of fuel a few times this weekend against Bika. The look on a fighter's face in the heat of combat can be a very easy thing to read.

So, is Duva right? Is Stevenson just not as great as he's been cracked up to be?

Perhaps we should take Kovalev out of the equation entirely in order to figure this one out. Kovalev, after all, appears at least to be on his way to becoming an all time great. Although I'm sure there are some who would favor Stevenson should the two ever meet, the odds not would most likely be in Kovalev's favor.

Let's forget about Kovalev for a moment, then. What kind of champion would Stevenson be considered if Kovalev had decided to attend medical school rather than the University of John David Jackson? How would he hold up against the Pascals, and Hopkins of the division?

The truth is, we don't know because he's never fought any of those guys. Never mind how good Stevenson looks stacked up against Kovalev. No one knows how good he looks stacked up against the other top names in his division.

Only Stevenson himself can prove Duva wrong. The question now is - does he want to?

PBC Delivers On CBS

Saturday offered fans some good television

Let's face it, it's great to have boxing back on Saturday afternoons. This is the sort of thing that, believe it or not, will bring back the sport from the margins. With all due respect to Floyd and Manny, they may only hold the general public's attention for a short period of time. A successful weekend sports program, however, can have a lasting effect.

Saturday afternoon's Premiere Boxing Champions card on CBS showed how it's done right. First and foremost, it had solid fights (at least on paper). What's more, it had a great team (Kevin Harlan, Paulie Malignaggi, Virgil Hunter) and good production values.

To the fights: Artur Beterbiev showed why he's a light heavyweight force to be reckoned with by destroying, and I mean destroying, crafty vet Gabriel Campillo within the first twelve minutes of their bout.

Here, folks, is someone to keep an eye on.

After replaying part of one of the card's untelevised bouts, it was time for the main event. Ignoring recent criticism, Adonis Stevenson came out with a red cape and posing like Christopher Reeve while John William's "Superman" theme blared across the Canadian auditorium. It was fun stuff,and was hopefully a taste of things to come.

Stevenson's opponent, the talented Sakio Bika, had moved up in weight for the bout and had expressed a great deal of confidence walking in. The first round was a feeling-out affair. Bika stayed in Stevenson's face, but Stevenson's punches were hard and thudding.

Bika nailed Stevenson with a left hook in the second, but Stevenson held strong. Yet Stevenson also appeared to be looking for the knockout at the expense of all else. He hurt Bika later in the round, but Bika was able to survive. It was a close one to call.

As the fight progressed, it was Stevenson's superior strength that told the tale. Simply put, Stevenson's punches were such that they allowed him to score more than his foe. Whereas Bika should have been moving in, Stevenson's power was able to keep him at bay.

Bika and Stevenson both went down in a tangled web in the fifth. It wasn't ruled a knockdown however, and Stevenson soon took to showboating - Anderson Silva style - while pounding at his man. Bika went down - maybe - at the end of the sixth. Things had clearly entered into a kind of pattern.

Or had they? The seventh ended with a solid Bika right. Was the tide about to turn?

No it wasn't. A savage shot put Bika on his rear three rounds later, in the ninth. Bika survived the round and indeed showed great heart by fight's end, but Stevenson was simply too strong and talented. He won a fair and square unanimous decision.

Is Stevenson too strong and talented for rival champ Sergey Kovalev, however? Thats a question fans want answered.

That's for another time, however. Right now CBS and PBC can sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. For they delivered an impressive performance.

Willie Monroe Jr - From Friday Night Fights To Gennady Golovkin

Golovkin's next opponent didn't just walk in off the street

One of the things I'm going to miss the most about ESPNs Friday Night Fights is the fact that I knew I might be seeing a star of tomorrow when I watched the cards on a Friday night. Ruslan Povodnikov. Chris Algieri. These are two recent FNF grads who have moved on to far bigger things. The latest is middleweight Willie Monroe Jr.

I really enjoyed watching the guy win last year's Boxcino Tournament on FNF. Not only was he fast and talented, he was gracious in victory - something that's not as common as it should be. Now, Monroe has really reached the big time. Needless to say, it's dangerous at the top.

For this May, the former FNF star will be facing none other than ferocious title holder Gennady Golovkin. Oh, Miguel Cotto may be the lineal middleweight champ at the moment, but everyone knows who the man may well be at 160, even perhaps Cotto himself.

Some will claim that's why Monroe has his shot this spring...because no one else wants to face a man whose knocked out almost one hundred percent of his opponents. Their loss may be Monroe's gain, however. Although the odds are clearly against the man, Monroe is no mere tuneup. He's a guy who can box and box well.

In short, he's the best available opponent to face the feared Golovkin - and that's saying something.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: FNF does it right. Enjoy it while you still can.

PBC's "Corner To Corner" Returns

There's definitely some good stuff on tv for fight fans lately

Premiere Boxing Champions' "Corner to Corner" returns tonight to focus the spotlight on the four men doing battle April 11th on NBC's flagship station in primetime. Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Andy Lee and Peter Quillin will all be featured.

PBC did a good job with it's first C-to-C episode, which featured Keith Thurman, Robert Guerrero, Adrien Broner and John Molina, so I'm confident tonight's episode will deliver the proverbial goods, as well. Truth be told, shows like this are important if boxing is to branch out from the margins in which it's found itself in the past decade or so.

As a kid, my favorite fighters were often the ones I saw on network television during the weekends. Not only did I get to know their respective styles, I got to know their personalities. Styles may make fights but personalities make fan bases. Part of the allure for Ali, for instance, was that he was, well, Ali.

Truth be told, none of the four men featured tonight come across as particularly offensive, which is a good thing for PBC and its network hosts. Quillin is quite likeable to listen to, for instance, and Peterson has a back story straight out of Charles Dickens.

While the world awaits Mayweather-Pacquiao in May, there's plenty of good matches to behold in the interval. Two of them will feature players which will be highlighted in tonight's episode. Needless to say, it's a good time to be a fight fan.

Brandon Rios Eager To Fight Kell Brook

Rios calls out to Brook across the pond for a throwdown.

Last weekend, after his brilliant victory over Jo Jo Dan, Kell Brook made it clear he was willing to fight pretty much anyone out there. Fellow Englishman Amir Khan came up, of course, but the name of a particular Oxnard, California fighter came up, as well.

Yup, Brook called out Brandon Rios. And Rios has responded with a clear affirmative. On Twitter this week the man known as "Bam Bam" not only expressed his willingness to fight the talented "Special K," he went out and pushed for it.

"Let's make this fight happen man," Rios Tweeted to Brook in the very early hours this morning.

What makes this whole thing so intriguing is the fact that Brook clearly wants to fight again soon, word is out that he may even want to get in the ring again this spring. With Khan apparently looking to get it on with Chris Algieri or someone not named Brook at the moment, Rios seems like a pretty good option.

He may have been bested by Pacquiao in 2013, but Rios always comes to fight. What's more, he looked magnificent in his third go round with Mike Alvarado this year. Sure, Alvarado clearly wasn't his best that night - but that's Alvarado's fault, and it takes nothing from Rios' performance.

That being said, Brook is truly a fighter on the rise. His strength, impressive straight punches and formidable defense make him a dangerous foe for anyone. Rios would undoubtedly love to play the spoiler, though. Besides, this would promise to be a fun fight. Both men like entertaining fans and rarely, if ever, put on anything less than a good show.

There are lots of interesting fights out there in this banner 2015. That doesn't mean there isn't room for another one.