Keith Thurman is scheduled to make his ring return on March 12 against Brock Jarvis at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, after three long years away from the fight game.
After pulling out against Tim Tszyu due to a torn bicep last March, the former unified welterweight champion now aims to make a run — for now at 154lbs — in what feels like a completely different era compared to the last time Thurman laced up the gloves.
The question remains, however, can Thurman rub the dust off and make a comeback at 36-years-old, in a division at 154 dominated by young talent from top to bottom.
It almost feels like when a fighter has lost their groove, if you will, that even a tuneup can create health dangers, or truly expose the nature of years off of the toughest sport on earth.
My take is that Thurman’s run as a champion is long over, and a belt is relatively far out of reach. Age and time off are what seem to be the main factors in a once household name.
Thurman, I believe, won’t be as lively and slick as he once was — and he’ll have much more trouble establishing his power, which we saw back in 2016 when he landed flush shots against the likes of Shawn Porter and others.
“Washed” may be a bit of a harsh vocabulary option to use when discussing Thurman, but, it feels like a reality that we may all witness, despite what he told Fox Sports.
“This is going to be one of the greatest comebacks in 2025,” he said. “Time does not take away the ability of champions. I’m going to warm up my skills and talent and remind people of who Keith Thurman is by beating up some kangaroos. I’m going to fly over there, I’m going to get this kangaroo (Jarvis), and I’m going to come back to America, and I’ll come get Tszyu.”
This bout is being overseen by No Limit, Tszyu’s co-promoters, indicating quite clearly, that the winner will see Tszyu in a matchup later in the year.
Tszyu is coming off of an upset defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev last October, where he was knocked out in the third round.
Jack Walsh is a New York-based journalist, currently working at a television station as a real time editor, and also an amateur boxer. He hopes to continue diving into the journalistic side of boxing and provide a unique, independent perspective. His work has also appeared in Boxing News Online.