KEITH THURMAN said he would only need one fight to make a comeback against Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, welterweight champions.
Mario Barrios will be the ex-WBA/WBC champion, and he will face him on February 5, ending his 31 MONTH absence due to injury and Covid setbacks.
Keith Thurman before his comeback fight
Thurman is welcomed back by Barrios, the former light-welterweight title holder who was knocked out last June by Gervonta Davies.
He insisted that the risky return would allow him to challenge his pound-for-pound counterparts Spence or Crawford, as well as WBA champion Yordenis Ugas (35).
Thurman, 33 years old, said to SunSport that "the fans know what Keith Thurman stands for."
"They know Keith Thurman and they know I am trying to bring the best fights into the Welterweight division.
"Regardless of Crawford, Spence, Ugas or Ugas, whatever it is, they know that after February 5, they will see Keith Thurman, who has always excited them. We'll move on to bigger, better, and more exciting fights."
Crawford, 34, recently defended his WBO title, while Spence is currently in discussions to unify his WBC, IBF and WBA belts with Ugas’ WBA version.
Free Bets: Get more than PS2,000 in NEW CUSTOMER DEALSThurman, like many boxing fans, would love to see Spence (31), and Crawford (34), clash in order to determine the No1 world welterweight.
He also demanded that the contract be presented to the pair so that he could face the winner in the super-fight.
Thurman stated: "You've seen Terence Crawford and Errol Spence going toe-to–toe with words. They're world-class fighters."
"They are not going to just start throwing punches at one another for no reason.
"But they would be more than happy if they could get a contract.
"I love both fighters, I can't handle both at once, but I would love to see both fights in the near future."
Before Thurman can plan a way back to the title, he must first deal with Barrios, 26. Barrios pushed Davis, 27 all the way to round 11, before he lost.
The American believes that Barrios' passion for battle could cause him to lose his weight.
Thurman stated: "He is a talented young man. He has great hand speed. He definitely seems to be a bit combination fighter.
"He is a good samaritan and he seems to be open to trading with other people when it comes down to exploitation.
He likes to be in a position to land a left hook, but once you are in that position, it's almost possible to grab a left hook.
"I am looking forward to trading left hooks. I consider myself the bigger puncher and bigger guy in this ring.
"I don’t know if he’ll be able support me as easily as Tank Davis. He seems to do better on his front foot then on his back.
"But all of that is speculation for me, so the best thing for me it to have my fundamentals down."
