Keith Thurman almost let the fight slip away, but ultimately his fast start overshadowed what appeared to be something of a late fade from the Florida fighter, as he won a split decision over Danny Garcia to unify the WBA and WBC welterweight titles.
Thurman (28-0, 22 KO) won on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 113-115. Both Wil Esco and myself scored the fight 115-113 for Thurman on the BLH scorecards.
Garcia (33-1, 19 KO) took the loss well in the initial post-fight interview, but we’ll see how that holds up. It was a tactical affair, one that saw Garcia look to counter for much of the fight, as is his game, but Thurman not making the sort of big mistakes Garcia likes to feast upon.
We’ve seen this happen in other Garcia fights that arguably could have gone the opponent’s way, against Mauricio Herrera and Lamont Peterson. This time, the decision went the other way, if just barely.
As far as action, it was far from a Fight of the Year candidate, but there was a tenseness to the bout from the start to the finish, even late when Thurman got on his bike a bit and — it turns out — nearly cost himself the fight. If John McKaie (115-113 Thurman) had scored one round more to Garcia, we would have had a split draw, and there were definitely a handful of rounds that could conceivably have gone either way.
How did you score this one? And do you think this win makes Keith Thurman the best welterweight in boxing today?