Keith Thurman’s split decision win last night over Danny Garcia didn’t exactly stir up any controversy — most observers seemed to feel that even if Thurman did flirt with letting the fight go, he deserved the win — but it was competitive, and Danny Garcia says he wants a rematch.
The question is, should he get one?
Every time there’s even a sorta-close fight in boxing, rematch talk starts. Thurman (28-0, 22 KO) won two cards on scores of 115-113 and 116-112, while Garcia (33-1, 19 KO) won the third card, 115-113, which was perhaps a bit of a stretch.
But no matter how you slice it, this wasn’t a blowout. And though welterweight is a competitive division, there are roadblocks to making different fights right now.
Thurman holds the WBC and WBA welterweight title belts now. Looking at the options out there, it’s a little limited.
- Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan: Set to fight one another on May 19, and Pacquiao is a Top Rank fighter. That doesn’t totally keep him out of the mix to face Haymon fighters, but it makes it harder.
- Shawn Porter and Andre Berto: Set to fight one another on April 22.
- Kell Brook and Errol Spence Jr: Set to fight one another in late May. The winner would be a great opponent for Thurman, no question about that.
- Lamont Peterson: Certainly a good fighter, and under the Haymon banner, but does this fight really spark interest?
- Adrien Broner: It looks like AB is at welterweight whether he likes it or not. There’d be interest here, but is really a better fight than a Garcia rematch?
Personally, I’m not invested in a Garcia rematch myself. Waiting a couple months to see who wins Brook-Spence is the best option, in my view, unless a fight with Pacquiao could be made. Manny is still arguably the best welterweight in the business, and would be the biggest money fight, no doubt about that, unless he loses to Khan, which, given the styles, could well happen.
But what do you think? Does Danny Garcia deserve an immediate rematch or not?