Keith Thurman Is “One Time” One More Time

Keith “One Time” Thurman danced his way into the ring in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday to the ringwalk song “This is America” by Childish Gambino.

Three rounds later, Thurman had danced away with a sensational third-round TKO victory after being out of the ring for more than three years.

Former unified world champion Thurman of Clearwater, Florida (31-1, 22 KOs) blew through Australian contender Brock Jarvis (22-2, 20 KOs) to win the WBA International Super Welterweight main event.

Keith Thurman’s hard right hooks found a home on Brock Jarvis. Photo: No Limit Boxing

“That’s what I’ve been telling everybody,” said Thurman after his win. “Man, I’ve had a lot of fights, a lot of contracts, a lot of camps that just kept falling out for whatever reason. Pushbacks, politics, man, but my love for the sport is still here, and that’s why I did what I did today, baby, to prove to the world that Keith “One Time” Thurman’s back in action.”

New trainer Tony Morgan after his longtime trainer Dan Birmingham retired.  1131 days out of the ring.

See the fight highlights here.

Thurman Wasted No Time

Clearly, the 27-year-old Jarvis is nowhere near the level of Thurman’s former foes. Nevertheless, Jarvis was the man in front of Thurman, and he got right down to business. He controlled the distance early, keeping the body punching Jarvis at range. He landed a hard right counterpunch one minute into the fight.

The speed rattled Jarvis as much as the power and brought him to life. He went after Thurman with multiple body punches and headshots. Thurman briefly covered up, then returned it to Jarvis, landing good uppercuts at the end of the round. The Australian fans loved the early action and let the men know it.

Thurman was on his feet in the second round, circling to the left and right to spot an angle and use his speed to get to Jarvis. Jarvis watched warily as Thurman circled. He invested in the body, then got out of range.

Third-Round Stoppage Is A Statement for Thurman

Keith Thurman knew as soon as he landed the hard left hook to the body he could drop Brock Jarvis. Photo: No Limit Boxing

In the third round, Jarvis closed the distance with more aggression. It was his downfall. Thurman landed a solid left hook to the body, followed seconds later by a hard right hand Jarvis didn’t see coming. Thurman followed up with another right to the body and shots upstairs, sending Jarvis to the canvas.

“What set it all up was a small, little left hook to the body,” said Thurman. “I saw him do that wince, and I said, ‘Okay, let’s just put the pressure on, see what happens.’

“And the first knockdown happened. He stood up. He showed some grit. That was me putting the pressure on him after I saw the weakness in him. My signature left uppercut is what got him down. Boom, right there, that left uppercut.

Keith Thurman seems to have little ring rust despite being out of the ring for three years. Photo: No Limit Boxing

Thurman immediately raised his arms in victory as he went to the neutral corner. It didn’t seem Jarvis would get up, but he did. It was a mistake. Thurman drilled Jarvis with another hard right hook and uppercut, then a left that sent Jarvis flying backward as referee Will Soulos was moving in to stop the fight.

“I knew he was in a very weakened state, this pressure that he’s getting put on from a two time former world champion, he most likely was gonna crumble like a domino. So just went hard,” explained Thurman.

Keith Thurman: Time for Tim Tszyu?

Keith Thurman says he’s more than ready to take on Tim Tszyu. Tsyzu will first need to win a comeback fight on April 6. Photo: No Limit Boxing

“It’s been a 29-year road. I know a lot of people wonder what Keith Thurman has. Keith Thurman has the heart and the will of a champion. Today, tomorrow, and forevermore,” he said after the fight.

Thurman was scheduled to face former champion Tim Tszyu in March 2024 before being forced to withdraw due to injury. Infamously, Tszyu agreed to fight Sebastian Fundora and suffered a loss in a bloody battle. .

Make no mistake, the fight with Jarvis was made to give Thurman the best possible opportunity to win without suffering any more damage, to expose himself to the Australian fans, and tee up a fight with Tim Tszyu.

Tszyu was sitting ringside, working for Fox Sports Australia. Asked for his impression of Thurman, Tszyu said, “I can see stuff that I didn’t see before. I can see his explosiveness. I can see his movement. He’s got a lot of tools. It was good for me to witness it.

“He comes in swinging, and when you have a pure boxer, you can exploit that. But easier said than done. He’s a talent,” said Tszyu. But Tsyzu pointed out he’s got business to do first: He’ll face Joey Spencer in a PPV fight in Australia on April 6.

It wouldn’t have hurt Thurman to go the full ten rounds and knock whatever rust had acculmulated off him. But he didn’t look like he had much, and getting the statement win puts Thurman back in the mix in a competitive division.

Zerafa Scores Seventh-Round TKO Win Over Ay

Michael Zerafa felt he had something to prove to become a relevant title contender, and he did it. Photo: No Limit Boxing

Former world title challenger Michael Zerafa of Melbourne (33-5, 21 KOs) delivered a solid performance with a seventh-round TKO win over German contender Besir Ay (19-2, 19 KOs).

Zerafa and Ay fought cautiously and deliberately through six rounds, and the Australian crowd started to get restless. Commentator and former world champion Shawn Porter noted that Zerafa needed to do something to make fans want to see him again.

Whether Zerafa heard it or not, he came out with a lively lead left jab in the seventh round, working it off the back foot. After a brief clench, Ay was back against the corner ropes, and Zerafe hurt Ay with a hard right hook. Seeing him hurt, the Australian poured it on for a knockdown.

Ay got off the canvas without too much trouble, then walked right into a vicious one-two left and right hook knockout by Zerafa. The right drilled Ay backward onto the canvas. He got up again, but after just a few seconds, referee Chris Condon signaled the fight was over.

Zerafa, 32, considers the victory an important step toward putting himself back in position to earn one more world title opportunity. He says he’d like to take on Tim Tszyu.

Mateo Tapia Takes Out Sergei Vorobev

Mateo Tapia of St. Petersburg (18-0-1, 11 KOs) got a stiff early challenge from Sergei Vorobev of Russia (20-3-2, 14 KOs), fighting out of Sydney. Tapia decided two could play at that game, and the Mexican-style heritage of Tijuana native Tapia came out to play.

Tapia had success timing his best weapon, an overhand right, with support from a sustained and consistent body attack. He wore a game Vorobev down quickly, hurting him late in the fourth round. Vorobev’s work rate was well slowed down in the fifth round. Tapia seized the opportunity, coming at Vorobev with combination punching. A single picture-perfect overhand round counterpunch dropped the Russian early in the round. He beat referee Les Fear’s count, but the fight was waved off for a TKO win.

The 26-year-old Tapia was fortunate to escape with a majority draw after being knocked down three times in his previous fight in Orlando, Florida.. “It feels good to be back. That Orlando fight was the biggest test of my life … I’m glad to be back and stamp my authority on this game.” Tapia said he doesn’t like calling anyone out. “The middleweights know where I am… give us a call.”

Ruston Scores Surprise Win Over Tongotongo

Kirra Ruston proved more than a match for Tonga Tongotongo. Photo: No Limit Boxing

Fans expected an explosive fight in the light heavyweight division between knockout punchers Tonga Tongotongo and Kirra Ruston. Ruston of Southport, Queensland (5-0, 5 KOs) pulled off the win over Tongtongo of Wollongong, New South Wales (9-1, 9 KOs) with an impressive flurry to get the sixth-round knockout victory.

The 26-year-old Ruston put on a mature, measured performance. He sized up Tongotongo for the first three rounds before increasing his work rate. In the sixth round, Ruston backed Tongotongo into the corner and went to work. He started with a vicious overhand right. Tongotongo fired back with his own hard right.

Ruston unleashed the hounds and tore into Tongotongo with accurate right and left hooks. He punched Tongotongo into the ropes and eventually onto the canvas. He survived the referee count to the end of the round. But he had suffered too much damage to continue with blood pouring from his nose and a quickly swelling eye.

Kirra Ruston put down Tonga Tongotongo in an impressive performance. Photo: No Limit Boxing

Ruston won the Australian regional title and signaled he is one to watch in the competitive light heavyweight division.

Opening the five-fight stream on the PBC YouTube Channel, super welterweight Jordan Martin of Sydney (7-1, 2 KOs) handed prospect Sonny Knight of Newcastle, New South Wales (4-1, 3 KOs) his first loss.