Keith Thurman makes his ring return on Wednesday, March 12, facing Brock Jarvis in a super welterweight bout at The Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. The former two-time champion looks to go through his next opponent and once again try to set up a fight against Tim Tszyu.
Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) was scheduled to meet Australia’s former champion Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) last March in Las Vegas, but the bout fell through due to an injury suffered by the native of Clearwater, Florida. Stepping through the ropes for the first time in over three years, the 36-year-old is confident in his victory over Jarvis (22-1, 20 KOs) and still eyes a potential showdown with Tszyu.
‘It’s not my fault that he’s square’
“I could be 46 years old, I still whoop his a**, I could be 56 years old, I still whoop his a** at the end of the day,” Keith Thurman said at the final press conference. “I came here to get back into the beautiful sport of boxing that I’ve loved that I’ve dedicated my whole life to since I was seven years old.”
“He moves like a cardboard box on wheels, a f***ing Tetris board in action. He’s square as f***. The boys got no head movement, I’m a two-time world champion.”
“I’ve seen this time and time and time again, I’m not trying to underestimate him. I’m trying to analyze the opponent that they happen to put in front of me. It’s not my fault that he’s square, that he just comes in and has no head movement.”
“This fight for me is my comeback fight to re-establish myself in the beautiful sport of boxing, to let the fight fans see who is this old, 36 year old, Thurman. What can he do? We know what he’s done, what can he do?”
“The world will see what Thurman brings to the table, and from there, you know, I’ll just be waiting for the next contract.”
“If it happens to have Tim Tszyu’s name on the other side, I’ll be happy to sign it. I’ve already signed a contract against Tim Tszyu once. It was an unfortunate event. We didn’t get to make that, maybe this is the year.”
‘I’m going to punch a hole in your head’
Jarvis said Thurman was “an old man now.” The Marrickville, New South Wales-based 27-year-old stated he was coming for a knockout.
“The way this fight’s gonna go is Keith’s an old man now,” Brock Jarvis said. “He’s not the same as what he used to be. He thinks he’s the same, but he’s not.”
“He’s coming off some big injuries and he’s gonna really struggle, get back in there. So I’m gonna hit him and I am gonna hurt him and it’s gonna be interesting to see how he reacts to it.”
“I’m certainly ready, I was looking at him the other day. He doesn’t look ready to me at all.”
“He looked like he was involved in a yoga class or something like that, I don’t know.”
“So I’m bringing the heat. I’m the one that’s going to bring the heat, I’m coming in for the knockout.”
“I’m not going to miss, I’m going to hit him and I’m going to hurt him. So it’s going to be interesting, I don’t know how he’s going to react at his age anymore.”
“I’m going to punch a hole in your head. That’s what’s going to happen.”
The Thurman vs Jarvis undercard features a pair of middleweight bouts, as Michael Zerafa faces Besir Ay and Cesar Mateo Tapia takes on Sergei Vorobev. Plus, Tonga Tongotongo goes up against Kirra Ruston at light heavyweight, and Sonny Knight squares off against Jordan Martin at super welterweight.
In the U.S., the event replay is available on the Premier Boxing Champions page on YouTube. The start time is scheduled for 9:00 am ET / 6:00 am PT.