Keith Thurman was successful last night in Brooklyn against Jan Zaveck, dominating and going the 12-round distance for the first time in his career, but he's aiming for bigger names, most notably Paulie Malignaggi.
Malignaggi and Thurman have spoken about one another pretty frequently in the press recently, including Malignaggi telling Luis Sandoval that Thurman is a "dummy" who doesn't bring enough money to the table. Last night at the post-fight press conference, Paulie was in attendance in his hometown, and Thurman took the opportunity to start up what turned into a pretty intense little argument.
Thurman asked Malignaggi how long he would be ducking him, to which Malignaggi responded, "I don't fight for co-main event money, homie." That sparked an escalating back-and-forth, which wound up with a suddenly flustered Richard Schaefer trying to calm Malignaggi, which as you probably can guess, wasn't going to happen.
Malignaggi said Thurman has never fought anybody who came to win, and said Jan Zaveck was a punching bag who should have had "Everlast" written on his forehead. When Thurman pointed out that Malignaggi had four losses, Malignaggi said, "To guys better than you."
Thurman also said he would beat Miguel Cotto. Eventually, Schaefer did gain a little control when Malignaggi stood up and shouted that his belt says "world champion," to which Schaefer quickly replied, "Actually, it says Louis Vuitton."
Malignaggi will face Adrien Broner on June 22, it was announced last night. Thurman's next step is to be decided.