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Keith Thurman Talks As We Count Down To March 4 Barclays Center Faceoff With Garcia

Published

February 15, 2017

Michael Woods

Keith Thurman Talks As We Count Down To March 4 Barclays Center Faceoff With Garcia

Florida based WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman has been built up as a possible future superstar, and come March 4, he will be able to answer that lingering question, take on that label and apply it to himself conclusively…or not.

Dibella looking forward sensational fight in the ring, think it will be a war. Electric crowd love Show on CBS prime time CBS. Barca last four five shows load the undercard with quality. Get tickets now, with good seats still available, and affordable seats, want to be there will be one of the best night boxing has to offer….

Coming out party for Lubin sensational talent fighting guy ridiculous KO ratio, going into much deeper waters..fonfara loser pretty much stick a fork in em..hardy in really tough, show to comm of to women boxing. looks mario barrios and lupines sep fight. card loaded w talent…

His test at Barclays Center, and on CBS, on free, network TV, out from behind the constricting pay cable pay-wall, will be offered by Danny Garcia, who holds the WBC 147 pound crown.

This will be an instance where the best meets the best, and this has to be applauded by fight fans who too often have not been offered such fare.

Now, you can quibble about the designation of Thurman and Garcia (33-0 with 19 KOs; age 28) as being “the best.” But the point actually is, these are among the very best and brightest at this weight class, and this weight class is at or near the apex of all divisions within the sweet science. So, the winner truly emerges, given a good performance, as a star with a new shine, a deep and sharp stamp of approval, from the masses.

Thurman spoke at a workout on Wednesday, for media in Florida:

Damon Gonzalez snapped this pic of Keith Thurman on Wednesday in Florida.

“I have goals to stay busy, these matches really get me amped up. I enjoy things like this…I'm blessed. It took 21 years to get here and I'm enjoying every moment,” Thurman said. “I want to put on a better performance than in the Shawn Porter fight, I'm looking forward to it.”

Good point and glad to hear it from the 27-0 (22 KOs) boxer. The 28 year old Thurman and Porter helped cement Barclays as a new Mecca for the sport in Brooklyn last year. But he didn't pull away in that June tango, put an indelible mark on the 12 rounds of work. Six points separated the combatants on three judges' cards. Some thought Porter deserved the nod. The most obvious way he can do answer questions, and bring his prominence to a place he believes it should be, is by dropping and stopping Garcia. Tall order, being that Garcia hasn't lost and has shown an above average chin since turning pro in 2007.

I'm thinking we are likely to see the largest boxing crowd in the history of the building, with the stakes being what they are, and with Garcia being a Brooklyn perennial. This will be his sixth time gloving up at Barclays, and Thurman' third.

In the building, the undercard should provide bang for the buck. Andrzej Fonfara (28-4; age 29) needs a win to stay on a certain plane at light heavyweight. His foe, Chad Dawson (34-4; age 34), cannot lose, or really, he meets the finish line of a career begun 2001. Also, 15-0 bantamweight Emmanuel Rodriguez from Puerto Rico could be a star in the making; a win over 46-2-2 Omar Narvaez, the former super fly champ, could accelerate that growth. Erickson Lubin, a 154 comer from Florida, will be featured on the CBS presentation. People are quite high on his future prospects, and at 18-0, he's up against a more experienced hitter, in 25-1 Jorge Cota from Mexico. Not to be overlooked is local bright light Heather Hardy. She's now 18-0, and she's in tough, against 13-3-1 Helen Joseph from Nigeria. She has above average power so Hardy will need to be the better brand of boxer and use her feet as much as her fists to keep her throngs happy.

Lou Dibella is the promoter and I checked in with him to get some lowdown on his thoughts.

“I am looking forward to a sensational fight in the ring, I think it will be a war in the main event,” he said. “I foresee an electric crowd, I love the Showtime on CBS prime time setup, the eyeballs on this will be immense. At Barclays, the last four or five shows we have loaded the undercard with quality. I say, get tickets now, with good seats still available, and by the way, for those on a tighter budget, we have plenty of affordable seats, up higher….You want to be there! It will be one of the best nights boxing has to offer this year!”

What else? “I think this is a coming out party for Lubin, he's a sensational talent and the guy he's fighting has a ridiculous KO ratio, so he's going into much deeper waters,” Dibella said. “That Fonfara versus Dawson fight, the loser pretty much you can stick a fork in 'em. Heather Hardy is in really tough, and that is a nod to the commitment of Showtime and Barclays and me to women boxing. Also, it looks like Mario Barrios and Sergey Lipinets will be fighting, separately, on the card. It is a card loaded with talent!”

This release went out today with Thurman quotes from his Wednesday session:

PETERSBURG, FL (February 15, 2017) – Undefeated world champion Keith “One Time” Thurman hosted media at his training camp in St. Petersburg, FL Wednesdayas he prepares to face fellow welterweight world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, Saturday, March 4from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.

Broadcast coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with undefeated rising star Erickson Lubin battling once-beaten knockout artist Jorge Cota in a super welterweight title eliminator bout.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, start at $50 (not including applicable fees) and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.ticketmaster.com, www.barclayscenter.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. Group discounts are available by calling 844-BKLYN-GP.

Here is what Thurman had to say Wednesday from the St. Petersburg Boxing Club:

KEITH THURMAN

“At the end of the day, it's just another fight. My job has not changed since I was seven years old. This is the sport that I love. The name of the game to hit and not get hit, but you know I'm looking to inflict some damage as well.

“I know Danny is confident coming into this fight. He's trying to challenge me and hurt me. I have an ‘0' and I'm not ready to let it go. If you think you can beat me, beat me. It's going down on March 4.

“You can expect a world class fight. We're both great champions with impressive skills. We're going to be pushing each other and testing each other. I see myself as the smarter fighter. I've shown that I can adjust in the middle of a fight. With the experience that I have, I go in there with an objective I'm trying to achieve. If it's not happening, then I have to use something else.

“Ultimately, my heart desires victory at this stage and at this level. I'm looking to do what I do best. Which is be a smart fighter, look for the openings and if I can cause some damage, hopefully I can capitalize on that.

“I showed against Shawn Porter that when you fully challenge me and make me gut it out, I'm there. I'm a champion and this champion doesn't lie down for anybody. That fight was a tremendous fight and we showed that we understand each other as fighters.

“I thought to myself after eight rounds against Porter, ‘this fight is tied.' Nothing that happened in the first eight rounds mattered. The fight was going to be decided in four rounds, just like the amateurs. I had to do what Ben Getty always said, ‘smart fighters win and dumb fighters lose.'

“I just want to keep moving myself up and establishing my legacy. I want to distinguish myself from the other welterweights. The winner of this fight will get the spotlight over everyone else in the division.

“I'm doing this for my career, for my legacy and for the fans. Without the fans, there's no legacy. I've been boxing for 21 years of my life and I look forward to having some more great years. I'm proud to be living my dream.

“To get two tremendous fights back-to-back is evidence that I'm on the right track and you could say we're gaining more power in the sport. I'm getting what I want out of the sport, which are big fights like this.

“This is something that the fans are excited about and I'm truly looking forward to this fight. I just want to keep living my dreams and working to become the best fighter in the world.

“Establishing a unification of a weight class is my ultimate goal in the sport of boxing. That's what we're working for.”

DAN BIRMINGHAM, Thurman’s Trainer

“The preparation has been fantastic. Keith has been on both. His long runs, short runs, sprinting, listening to everything in the gym not to mention great sparring. You are going to see a great performance.

“This is a dream come true for me. I never dreamed of this when I was Youngstown, OH before I came to Florida. When I came here there were guys like Jeff Lacy and Winky Wright that came into my gym who I’ve been fortunate enough to work with. Then came Ben Getty and Keith Thurman.

“I owe most of this to Ben Getty. I want him to get a lot of the recognition. He really deserves it. I am just trying to continue what he started.

“Fans are going to see a great performance. They are going to see a well-conditioned, well-trained Keith Thurman. He is very focused on getting rid of Garcia and moving up in the ranks.”

# # #

The two-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS broadcast will be just the second primetime boxing presentation on the CBS Television Network in nearly 40 years. It is presented by Premier Boxing Champions and produced by SHOWTIME Sports^® for CBS Television, both divisions of the CBS Corporation.

ABOUT THURMAN vs. GARCIA

Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia is a welterweight world title showdown between undefeated 147-pound titlists. The 12-round bout headlines SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, Saturday March 4 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™. In the co-main event undefeated rising star Erickson Lubin battles once-beaten knockout artist Jorge Cota in a super welterweight title eliminator bout on CBS at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports follow on Twitter @SHOSports, @KeithFThurmanJr, @DannySwift, @LouDiBella, @BarclaysCenter and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/DiBellaEntertainment, www.Facebook.com/barclayscenter. PBC is sponsored by Corona, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

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Michael Woods

Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson. The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999. Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.