Keith Thurman: Mayweather’s the king of the division, all he needs to do is offer the fight to Showtime and we can fight”

(Transcribed by Michael Readman) I recently had a chance to speak with interim welterweight titlist Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman to get his thoughts on his most recent win. Thurman talked about his title defense against Julio Diaz, and broke down various of the key rounds from the bout. Keith also gave his views on Amir Khan & Floyd Mayweather’s recent wins, and if he thinks he could find himself in the ring with either in his future. Additionally Thurman gives his thoughts on the possibility of Floyd Mayweather Jr. beginning to decline at age 37. Here is what Keith Thurman had to say in part 1 of his interview.

Jenna J: Keith, lets start things off with your last fight against Julio Diaz, you were defending your interim WBA welterweight title. Can you tell the fans a little bit about your performance?

Keith Thurman Jr: It was a great fight, I trained really hard preparing for the fight. I was looking for a knockout, I really wanted Diaz to know he was in with a puncher. To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever squeezed another pair of gloves as hard a I squeezed gloves that night, I just really had bad intentions the whole fight.

It was a good fight for three rounds pretty much, and that was that. I’m really looking forward to more challenges in the future years from the world of boxing.

Jenna J: How disappointed were you that you weren’t able to finish things a little bit more definitively? You hurt him bad enough that he had to quit, but did you want to do more to him than what you did?

Keith Thurman Jr: Yeah, for the entertainment factor and for the fans because that’s what they really wanna see. My disappointment lies from my desire to be challenged and from disappointing the fans — not being able to give the fans what they wanna see. I try to do my best every single time I’m in there and just stay tuned because there will be more knockouts to come, that’s for sure.

Jenna J: In the third round, it did appear like you got hit with a good shot and you were stunned a little bit. Did he hurt you at all?

Keith Thurman Jr: No, that’s what we call commentary. The commentators kind of try to tell you all when a fighters stunned. I was off balance after throwing that punch, I ducked my head to duck his punch, it might have hit me a little bit but it was being off balance that threw me that way.

In the Pacquiao fight they said that Bradley lifted him off both of his feet and we know how Pacquiao bounces with his feet, so he obviously got caught right before he was already gonna lift himself off the ground. That’s why that happened to him when he got punched as well. That’s just how it looks when we’re off balance, but I was never stunned or dazed in the fight.

Jenna J: Keith, lets talk about what’s next for you. What particular challenges out there do you wanna see happen?

Keith Thurman Jr: Any challenge really, any top ten fighter, from Mayweather down. Mayweather holds the WBA title, that’s the title I deserve a shot at. We’ll see what happens, but I’m ready.

Jenna J: There are a few options, there’s Amir Khan, Shawn Porter and then Floyd Mayweather. Of those three fights, which do you think is more likely to happen?

Keith Thurman Jr: I have to say Amir Khan or Floyd unless they keep not putting me in with a top ten fighter. Shawn Porter has that mandatory with Kell Brook right now so I don’t see that fight happening in the near future.

Jenna J: Lets talk about Amir Khan. What did you think of his last performance against Collazo and how do you think a fight between you and him would go?

Keith Thurman Jr: I think Amir looked good, he looked good. Khan looked pretty strong, he still looked athletic at 147 and everything, you know. He can box, he did a good job and he fought the right fight and Collazo didn’t fight the right fight and I don’t think Collazo could deal with his speed or figure out what he should do to counteract that speed.

Me and Amir, that would be a great fight. I like to fight, I’m down for the fight and I think I’m gonna knock him out too. To me, Amir is a real nice boxer, he really is and he does deserve the credit he’s gotten throughout his career, but to me he’s like an amateur, like an amateur style fighter. I had to fight like fifty of those kind of guys in the amateurs all day. I’m ready for Amir Khan and I look forward to the fight, we’ll see what happens.

Jenna J: Lets turn things to Floyd Mayweather Jr. who recently had a tougher than expected fight against Marcos Maidana. You were in Las Vegas for the fight, what did you think?

Keith Thurman Jr: I thought it was a boring fight, as a fan. You get that at a lot out of Mayweather fights kind of, but if you pay attention if you really like boxing, you can learn several things from watching Mayweather fight.

I feel like Mayweather didn’t have to fight that kind of fight. I listened to Floyd’s post fight interview and he said if they were to fight again that he wouldn’t fight like that for a second time. I listened to his pre fight press conference and he stated he was gonna fight just like that, so the one thing I can say about Floyd Mayweather is that at least he’s a man of his word.

He literally said he was gonna fight like that and I told people that he shouldn’t really fight like that — I don’t know why he would make a comment like that — he doesn’t need to fight like that. He said he would do it and he did it, and afterwards he said he doesn’t have to do it again if they do a rematch, in other words, he’ll make the fight easier for himself.

It was interesting, Mayweather seemed a little slower than normal, he was having a little bit of a hard time timing Maidana but then eventually he got back on point, he was looking sharper as the fight went along. It was good, I think Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the true definition of what a veteran is.

Jenna J: It’s interesting that you mention that he was a little slower. I was at his fight with Canelo, and watching it he did appear a little bit slower, but his craft got him through. Do you think that he is showing some signs of decline at the age of 37?

Keith Thurman Jr: Possibly, you know. Every day he’s only getting older, every day. Every day he becomes an older fighter, not a younger fighter and at 37, those are some high numbers to play with. With all due respect, he’s a great fighter but every dog has its day and I don’t know if he’s really gonna pull off that 50-0.

Jenna J: Keith, you’ve certainly done enough now in the welterweight division to be a legitimate challenge for him, but do you think he wants to fight a young undefeated guy like yourself?

Keith Thurman Jr: I don’t know, that’s up to him. That’s up to him because he’s the man, he’s the king of the division, all he needs to do is offer the fight to Showtime, Showtime agrees and the fight happens. So with him it’s all just about just getting the approval from the network and figuring out what he would call ‘The numbers,’ he’s all into the numbers.

It’s definitely a possible fight, I’d give him a great fight and the more time he takes, the more I’m gonna come up in the ranks and I’m really just gonna get used to the game more and more, you know. If he wants to use his experience on me, I think it’s best he use it on me before I gain more experience in the game.

It’s a great fight, I love my position in the welterweight division. I love where I’m at, there’s a ton of great fights to make, the welterweight division is packed with talent and possibilities right now. I’m happy to be in it and I’m happy to watch what’s going down as a fan as well.

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Stay Tuned to ontheropesboxing.com for part 2 of Keith Thurman’s interview.

Follow Keith Thurman on his real twitter account, @keithfthurmanjr