“When he goes down, he’s going to realize what a legend is,” Thurman said during Wednesday’s virtual press conference. “He hasn’t met one. He knows what to tell himself to get in the ring, like it’s just another day. I’m taking it a little more seriously than that, and he’s going to find out that March 28 is not just another day. It’s Thurman’s day.”
Thurman built his reputation years ago at welterweight against Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter. Fundora’s biggest fights, including the brutal stoppage of Erickson Lubin in 2022 and the upset win over Tim Tszyu that earned him the WBC title, have come much more recently.
Thurman’s best stretch came nearly a decade ago when he unified titles with a win over Danny Garcia in 2017. That period was brief. Since that fight, he’s only stepped into the ring four times in nine years, and his wins during that time have come against Josesito Lopez, Mario Barrios and Brock Jarvis.
Injuries and long layoffs gradually reduced Thurman’s activity during what should have been the best years of his career. Moving up to 154 pounds now pits him against a champion who has competed in the division far more often.
Fundora captured the WBC title in a bloody fight with Tszyu and established himself as one of the physically toughest fighters in junior middleweight. Standing 6-foot-5 with a long reach and an aggressive southpaw style, he presents challenges few fighters can replicate in training.
“I just look at Keith as another fight,” Fundora said. “I’ve fought a reigning champion and former champions. So I’ve got to see it as just another fight. I’ve got to go make the ring mine and make this fight mine too.”
The contrast between the fighters reflects the real question surrounding the fight. Thurman is building on a reputation built years ago in another division. Fundora enters the fight as the active champion and tries to prove that he belongs among the top fighters at 154 pounds.
March 28 will reveal whether Thurman has anything left from the period that made him a champion, and whether Fundora’s recent run at junior middleweight is more relevant than achievements from a much earlier chapter of Thurman’s career.
