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By: Sean Crose
Keith Thurman is notorious for being injured. For a man who has had a relatively brilliant career, much of it seems to have been spent in frustration as everything from an accident to trouble with his hand has kept him from fighting when scheduled. Now however, it’s not Thurman who’s been injured but his opponent for next week, Sebastian Fundora. The towering WBC junior middleweight champion harmed his hand in training. Although the fight still seems to be a go, it won’t go down on October 25th as have been planned. Thurman and fans will have to wait to see the fight which hopefully will now go down early next year.
Although Thurman is arguably past his prime, there is a lot to like about this fight. Thurman has always been an exciting fighter to watch. He’s only lost one fight and that was to Manny Pacquiao. A throwdown against the younger, far taller Fundora is nothing if not intriguing. Although Fundora would be the likely favorite walking in, there’s no doubt that Thurman could possibly turn back the clock and surprise the defending champion with an upset.
One of the more colorful figures in the sport, Thurman is known to draw in eyeballs to his fights. Presenting himself as something of a free spirit, Thurman has always stood out from peers like Adrien Broner, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia. He’s also been a hard-hitting and quite skilled boxer. Whether he’s playing a woodwind instrument, spending time with his family or working out in a Florida gym, Thurman has a knack for making things interesting. Fundora on the other hand, sees boxing as a family affair…because it is. His sister is a world titleist and his father is very much involved in his career. A lanky, gutsy fighter, the man is a tough out for anyone at junior middleweight.
The entire October 25th card has been scratched, likely because it was going to be a pay-per-view event and it’s hard to sell a pay-per-view without the biggest fighters on the card squaring off. For now, Thurman and Fundora will have to wait until Fedora is well enough to fight. Injuries are part of the fight game after all and this sort of thing is to be expected. Still, such scenarios are frustrating, both for the fighters and for the fans. People want to see Thurman and Fundora healthy and squaring off after all. And the sooner the better.
