Keith Thurman is certainly an ambitious fighter, and while he praised Floyd Mayweather's Saturday night win over Manny Pacquiao, he also made clear that he wants to face Floyd in September, and that he still feels he's got the tools to give the pound-for-pound king a challenge.
"I told everyone I favored Floyd in this fight, and it was a beautiful match," Thurman said immediately after the fight. "Floyd is very hard hit, he is the world champion."
When asked who he thinks Mayweather (48-0, 26 KO) will fight next, Thurman (25-0, 21 KO) said, "The Money Team has to have something in mind. I'm pretty sure he's going to want to finish off his Showtime contract and still hopefully put together an exciting fight for the fans. Whom he's gonna fight, we don't know."
But when asked if he wanted the fight still, he was his usual, more colorful self.
"You know I want to fight him, baby, especially after seeing that beautiful performance, man. I told you guys, I have an 0, I'm not afraid to let it go. Floyd's beat everybody. I don't care if Floyd beats me," he said.
"At the end of the day, I want the experience. I want to fight the best in the world. I know I'm a dangerous man. I've told people, I'm different than Manny Pacquiao. I'm bigger than Manny Pacquiao. I have more head movement, boxing skills, in-and-out, all-around movement than Pacquiao. I think me and Floyd Mayweather would be an excellent fight."
Must Reads
Thurman, 26, was last seen on March 7, when he largely dominated Robert Guerrero in the Premier Boxing Champions debut event on NBC, and arguably looked more impressive than Mayweather did when Floyd beat Guerrero back in 2013.
Currently, Thurman sits in second place in our poll about Mayweather's next fight, trailing Amir Khan by a slight margin. But if Mayweather is stuck on September, Khan is not going to be the opponent, as he won't fight that month due to Ramadan.
Do you think Thurman is the right choice for September? Does he pose any significant threat to Mayweather?