Keith Thurman aims to outshine Mayweather against Guerrero

When Floyd Mayweather fought Robert Guerrero in May 2013, he cruised to a 12-round decision in a fight that came after a year out of the sport, and a stint in a Nevada jail. Mayweather was perhaps a bit rusty, but certainly won easily, negating the roughhouse tactics Guerrero has preferred since moving up to welterweight, and keeping "The Ghost" from doing much of anything offensively, sharpshooting his way to the win.

Keith Thurman (24-0, 21 KO) is up this coming Saturday against Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KO), and has recently been called "average" by Jeff Mayweather, Floyd's uncle and himself a former boxer and a current trainer. Thurman doesn't see it that way, of course, but is looking to back up his own claims with a stellar performance on NBC.

"Call me average if you want to. My punching power and knockout ratio are not average. My ring intelligence isn't average. We'll prove it on March 7th. We have an opportunity to out-perform Mayweather and we're going to do so."

Thurman also continued to mildly bash Mayweather (47-0, 26 KO), and claim he doesn't see the pound-for-pound king as a threat:

"I don't see somebody like Mayweather - who hasn't had a knockout for several years - as a threat. What's he going to do? Poke me and beat me on points? Come on! I am dangerous!"

Thurman, 26, heard some boos in his last fight, a fairly dull 12-round decision win over crafty Leonard Bundu in San Antonio. A fighter who has sold himself on excitement, Thurman didn't exactly bring the fireworks that night, opting to box his way to a routine victory, and when fans grew bored of the fight, they let their voices be heard. They also booed Thurman during a post-fight interview, seeming to frustrate him just a little bit.

We'll see if that has any impact on how Thurman approaches Guerrero, who turns 32 later this month and is looking to make a real charge at a welterweight title again. A win over the hyped and unbeaten Thurman would be a great step in that direction, obviously. Guerrero has fought just once since his loss to Mayweather, outbrawling Yoshihiro Kamegai last June.