clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Keith Thurman: Amir Khan is the most overrated welterweight

Keith Thurman talks Leonard Bundu, Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley, and more.

On 2015

"I'm really looking forward to getting the big names in boxing. But obviously we really have to take care of Saturday night, but as I look into the future, I see 2015 being my year."

On the most overrated fighter at welterweight

"Overrated fighter in my division? Right now, I would call Amir Khan. I would say Amir Khan. To me, he's yet to prove himself at 147 pounds. He fought Collazo -- over the hill Collazo. Now he's fighting Devon Alexander, who in reality, it's really two 140 pounders. If you go back two years ago, it's two 140 pounders fighting at a catchweight. Fight a real welterweight, baby."

On Khan vs Alexander

"Everybody's leaning toward Khan. I believe statistically, they have a lot of reason to do so, but I believe that come Saturday night, it'll be the man who wants it the most."

On not overlooking Leonard Bundu

"It's highly important, man. He's 31-0 for a reason. He's coming over here with confidence. He's an Olympian. He doesn't feel the age that he is. His last fight in certain rounds, he was averaging over 60 punches a round. I do my research, I do my study, we train hard in the gym, and I'm looking forward to this. I'm not looking over Bundu, I'm just looking to get through him."

On whether he'll stop Bundu early or not

"If he keeps his chin wide open, most definitely. We always plan on hurting people. We see that we can hurt people. It's my job to hurt you, it's your job to protect yourself. We'll see what his skills and abilities can do."

On whether his boxing is underrated

"Definitely. A lot of opponents when they train for me, they only think about the power. They don't think about my footwork, they don't think about my head movement, and I believe that's gonna be the deciding factor in this fight."

On who he'd want to fight at Top Rank

"If you go down the chain of command, it goes right down to Timothy Bradley. He's fighting Saturday night, we'll have something in common with Diego Chaves. We'll be able to mirror his performance against my performance, and I would love that fight."

On whether he'd prefer Bradley to Khan

"Just as much. It is equal. Like you said, first we gotta break down the barriers. On this side of the fence, I like Amir Khan. On that side of the fence -- 'cause on this side of the fence, I like Floyd, everybody likes Floyd. On that side of the fence, you got Manny Pacquiao. So when you go down the chain of command, the second-best is Amir Khan and Timothy Bradley."

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Bad Left Hook Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of all your global boxing news from Bad Left Hook