By: Sean Crose
Former world titlist Keith “One Time” Thurman took on current junior middleweight world titlist Sebastian Fundora Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At stake in the scheduled twelve round affair was Fundora’s WBC title, as well as Thurman’s future. At 37 years of age the colorful 31-1 Thurman was past his best days, after all. Whether or not the man could still deliver was the question that drove the talk leading up to Saturday night. The 23-1-1 Fundora came into the ring a much taller, much younger, fighter. Thurman, however, had always been a fighter of boundless confidence.
Fundora landed hard early in the first. The remainder of the round, however, was rather close. Thurman aimed to move laterally while simultaneously trying to get in on his man. Fundora, on the other hand, tried holding Thurman back with his long jab. Thurman got rocked again early in the second. Again, however, Thurman recovered well. While both men landed, Fundora may have taken the round by simple virtue of landing more power shots. Things remained close in the third. Thurman was fighting well, but Fundora appeared to be in control thanks to his southpaw jab.
By the fourth it was obvious that Fundora was taking control of the fight. He was throwing and landing power shots at a considerable pace. Thurman was able to fire himself – but not like Fundora. That, however, didn’t keep Thurman from landing a crunching blow in the early portion of the fifth round. Still, Fundora hammered the former titlist throughout the remainder of the chapter. Indeed, it looked like Thurman might be at the end of the line as the round wore down, though he once again survived. Thurman was looked at by the ring doctor at the start of the sixth, but was allowed to continue.
Just before the midpoint of the round, the referee wisely stepped in and stopped the beating. Thurman complained, but his face was a mask of blood and swelling. It would have been foolish to have allowed Thurman to continue. “All respect to Keith,” Fundora said afterward. “That’s why I had to train so hard.” Fundora then let it be known what kind of attitude he entered the ring with. “You’re in my world,” he said simply. He may be a nice guy – and he truly is – but Fundora is simply not the kind of man one would want to cross. Simply put, the young guy’s height and power are a lethal combination.
It wasn’t so much the win that stunned fight fans. It was the way Fundora absolutely wiped Thurman out that raised the eyebrows of the fight world. “I think everybody’s going to have a perfect fight plan when they fight this tall punching machine,” noted trainer and podcaster Teddy Atlas said on his livestream commentary shortly after the fight. Although it was Fundora who was the star of the evening, it was hard not to feel sympathy for Thurman. No matter what one thought of the man he had been one of the most capable, colorful and successful fighters of the past fifteen years or so.
The truth is that it’s hard to see a former star get legitimately smashed in the ring. Had Thurman lost by decision, or even by a late stoppage, it would have been unsurprising. Thurman was beaten nearly senseless, however. And it wasn’t fun to see. That takes nothing away from a stunning performance on the part of Fundora, though. The man deserves all the credit he gets. Saturday night was a hallmark moment for the guy. It was one of the most dominant performances in a high stakes fight in recent memory. It will be interesting to see where Fundora goes from here. At under thirty years of age, the future is clearly looking bright.
Thurman, one the other hand, should seriously consider calling it a career. He’s done great work in the ring, and he was thirty-seven when he was stopped by a far younger fighter. There’s no shame in walking away at this point.
