Chris van Heerden says he’s the perfect opponent for Keith Thurman

South African welterweight Chris van Heerden thinks Keith Thurman should give up on his hopes for a Manny Pacquiao rematch for the time being, and instead look towards him if he wants to rumble with another southpaw.

“I’m a perfect matchup for Keith Thurman right now,” Van Heerden exclusively told World Boxing News. If he were to fight Pacquiao again or Spence, or even get a crack at Terence Crawford, all southpaws, I’m the perfect guy. Plus, I already fought Spence. Keith hasn’t fought in a year. It’s perfect for TV. I know I will beat him.”

van Heerden, 33, hasn’t really been on the scene in a big way since he fought and got stopped by Errol Spence back in 2015. He has since won five straight fights, though, albeit against pretty middling opposition.

Meanwhile Thurman, 31, has been out of action since that split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao last summer, but has recently been pretty vocal about wanting to fight Errol Spence all of the sudden. That highly unlikely to happen in the short term, so perhaps an opponent like van Heerden would be right up Thurman’s alley.