Boxing: Errol Spence vs Keith Thurman

[btc_angela]

My personal take. This fight will happen since this is a big fight and should be very easy for Spence. Spence should be able to stop this past-prime version of Thurman or at least win an easy unanimous decision if he wants to stay safe.

At first glance I see Thurman continuing to practice to anticipate and hone his skills, if Thurman & Spence officially box in the ring in the future, Thurman understands quite well some of Errol Spence's attacks on his opponent.

I remember that at that time Thurman had refused Spence's offer, but if you look at the events that have happened between the two of them, it is clear whether this boxing is official or not depends on Errol Spence's decision, if he hadn't made fun of or held a grudge against Thurman a while ago.

Some experts and boxing experts predict, if Errol Spence forgets what happened between the two and Errol Spence doesn't hold grudges and is selfish in this boxing, of course he will get the best ticket to fight Thurman in the future, that's all if Spence doesn't change his mind.

I know that prime Thurman is capable of beating Spence. We'll see mate if Thurman's fire returns to its former glory days. He isn't that old but he needs hunger and motivation in order to beat Spence.

I heard the rumors before but I haven't paid much attention. But I did follow Thurman a lot during championship days. Thurman from the past was so hungry, eager, and determined. I actually like him when he was being honest and verbally threw offensive remarks to his own handlers (PBC and Showtime) and to Floyd Mayweather jr. who kept the belts hostage from mandatories, ranked 1 contenders, and Thurman as then the WBA regular champion. Thurman was obviously mad and disgruntled as to why he isn't getting a shot at the real belts. I am not even sure if Spence's challenge was for real and at that time he ain't a champion either so Thurman won't get anything if he wins. And Thurman was right, if you want to be the best then why wasn't Spence challenging Mayweather at that time.

This is the same scenario right now, overdue title shots for the next generation of prospects; WBA regular champion Eimantas Stanionis and top 1 ranked contenders Vergil Ortiz and Boots Ennis. The WBA now mandated both Stanionis and Ortiz to face each other and the winner gets the Super WBA belt held by Spence. I doubt it happens though, why would Stanionis face a mandatory when he is already the regular champ, he should get Spence right away. The same situation for Ortiz, he gets nothing fighting Stanionis, it's a fake belt. I don't think Spence would want to fight these young undefeated contenders that are too risky, he rather move up and try to become a 2 division champion for his legacy. 

Nah, I don't think that hunger was lost from him, he is still the same Thurman I know, the only difference now is he is not anymore undefeated, but losing to Pacman is still okay because he was an 8th time world champion and Spence did not even beat Pacman although he beat the fighter who defeated Pacman.

I'm still rooting for Thurman this time, he knows what is at stake here, it's his opportunity to be a champion again, so he will certainly do everything to win.

But you can see that after he was beaten by Manny, it took him some time to recover and bounce back, and who is his opponent when he try to make a comeback? Mario Barrios who is not a natural 147 lbs.

So that alone is already a contention as to why he cherry pick Barrios. But I guess he was just lucky that he is still with PBC and so he was given the green light or at least being mandated to fight Spence. So it's a question whether he still has the fire or not, but hopefully the hunger is still inside of him in this fight.

[Baofeng]

My personal take. This fight will happen since this is a big fight and should be very easy for Spence. Spence should be able to stop this past-prime version of Thurman or at least win an easy unanimous decision if he wants to stay safe.

At first glance I see Thurman continuing to practice to anticipate and hone his skills, if Thurman & Spence officially box in the ring in the future, Thurman understands quite well some of Errol Spence's attacks on his opponent.

I remember that at that time Thurman had refused Spence's offer, but if you look at the events that have happened between the two of them, it is clear whether this boxing is official or not depends on Errol Spence's decision, if he hadn't made fun of or held a grudge against Thurman a while ago.

Some experts and boxing experts predict, if Errol Spence forgets what happened between the two and Errol Spence doesn't hold grudges and is selfish in this boxing, of course he will get the best ticket to fight Thurman in the future, that's all if Spence doesn't change his mind.

[..snip..]

This is the same scenario right now, overdue title shots for the next generation of prospects; WBA regular champion Eimantas Stanionis and top 1 ranked contenders Vergil Ortiz and Boots Ennis. The WBA now mandated both Stanionis and Ortiz to face each other and the winner gets the Super WBA belt held by Spence. I doubt it happens though, why would Stanionis face a mandatory when he is already the regular champ, he should get Spence right away. The same situation for Ortiz, he gets nothing fighting Stanionis, it's a fake belt. I don't think Spence would want to fight these young undefeated contenders that are too risky, he rather move up and try to become a 2 division champion for his legacy. 

And that's why in this era, there are a lot of belts, there should only be 1 real champion per organization. And it just shows how this boxing really turns into politics and corrupt people behind as they can't even impose who's going to face based on their ranking to face the champion.

Champion then will have the option to go up and leave the belt if they felt that the new challenger is going to beat him, like in this case, it will be risky for Spence so if he even beat Thurman, he might vacant it and move to 154 lbs, not giving Ortiz or Ennis their chance.

[mirakal]

Yes, Thurman is Crawford is going to be huge, it will be the same as Crawford vs Porter and bigger than Crawford vs Ugas. A

True, Crawford did not dominate Porter although he won the fight, so we can expect that Crawford will have a tougher fight against Thurman because IMO, Thurman is way better than Porter. In terms of stamina, I believe Thurman still has it, so I'm not really sure if what the majority think will happen, I guess we are going to see an upset.

Thurman had shown the world that he is really better than Porter.  He beats the younger Porter via a unanimous decision.  That is enough to say that Thurman is better than Porter.  With regards to Spence vs. Porter, Spence did knock down porter but their fight is decided via split position which makes me think that if Porter has not been KD in that fight, Porter could have won the match. And about Crawford and Porter, Crawford won the fight via TKO in round 10, Crawford is way better technically against Porter, he read Porter's movement and was just toying with Porter on the early rounds.  See how Crawford smiles and laugh whenever they clash and clinch.  So I think Crawford is a better boxer than Thurman and I believe even if compared to Spence.

But the world of boxing believe that Spence is better than Thurman, that's why it's very exciting to watch this game since Spence will have to fight a good contender in his division, and ex champ who would try his way to be a champion again. If Spence will lose this fight, Crawford will certainly be so happy as for sure he will get the opportunity to fight Thurman.

Sometimes people will judge the boxer simply because of their past, Spence is clearly their favorite because he has been fighting almost every year and defeating them impressively, and most of all he is undefeated which is quite opposite for Thurman. But for those people who are an avid fans of this industry, they sure know the correct situation and the facts of this fight that Spence doesn't have that much upper hand compared for Thurman.

If Spence will lose this fight, Crawford will certainly be so happy as for sure he will get the opportunity to fight Thurman.

That is for sure, Crawford won't have some hardships anymore because Keith here will be holding most of the belts available if in case he will win. Let's just hope that the IBF will also order this match so that all 3 belts will be on the line.

[Fredomago]

But you can see that after he was beaten by Manny, it took him some time to recover and bounce back, and who is his opponent when he try to make a comeback? Mario Barrios who is not a natural 147 lbs.

So that alone is already a contention as to why he cherry pick Barrios. But I guess he was just lucky that he is still with PBC and so he was given the green light or at least being mandated to fight Spence. So it's a question whether he still has the fire or not, but hopefully the hunger is still inside of him in this fight.

All will be answered once the fight start to roll, the conclusion of the fight will tell it all whether he still have that fire inside him to win the belt or it was a lucky comeback fight against Barrios, who's not really on this division, I see it clearly in what extent you wanted to point here but Thurman may give Spence a hard time since both of them are still young and still on their prime in terms of body conditions.

A matter of how prepared and what kind of trainings and drills they will be undergoing to find ways to beat one another.

[lionheart78]

But the world of boxing believe that Spence is better than Thurman, that's why it's very exciting to watch this game since Spence will have to fight a good contender in his division, and ex champ who would try his way to be a champion again.

True oftentimes we look at the champions as the most skilled boxer neglecting some factors of comparison.  Aside from that, there is also called boxing style where one style counters the others.  At the recent time, Spence is the champion so it is obvious people see him as superior to any non-title holder boxers.  They think, he is there for a reason.  Besides, there is also called fight preparation where each camp scouts the opponent's camp looking for their opponent's weakness.  So this preparation is the biggest key factor to the possible winner of the match unless someone gets hit unprepared and got KO'ed.

If Spence will lose this fight, Crawford will certainly be so happy as for sure he will get the opportunity to fight Thurman.

If ever, Crawford will have an easy fight if ever Thurman becomes victorious in this coming fight, Crawford won't be only happy because he get's the opportunity to fight Thurman but also because I think Crawford's style is a counter to Thurman's aggressive style.

But you can see that after he was beaten by Manny, it took him some time to recover and bounce back, and who is his opponent when he try to make a comeback? Mario Barrios who is not a natural 147 lbs.

So that alone is already a contention as to why he cherry pick Barrios. But I guess he was just lucky that he is still with PBC and so he was given the green light or at least being mandated to fight Spence. So it's a question whether he still has the fire or not, but hopefully the hunger is still inside of him in this fight.

All will be answered once the fight start to roll, the conclusion of the fight will tell it all whether he still have that fire inside him to win the belt or it was a lucky comeback fight against Barrios, who's not really on this division, I see it clearly in what extent you wanted to point here but Thurman may give Spence a hard time since both of them are still young and still on their prime in terms of body conditions.

A matter of how prepared and what kind of trainings and drills they will be undergoing to find ways to beat one another.

Honestly, as I watched Thurman's training, I feel a little different boxer on him.  it looks like he has gone slow or probably he is more focused in power training giving more power behind his punches.  So possibly Thurman's training is focused on knocking Spence and not to box it till 12 round.  Anyway, that is just my observation and I agree, all our speculation will be answered when the fight commences.

[Kemarit]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

[Baofeng]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

[Russlenat]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

Thurman survived against Pacman despite that 1st round knockdown, so I don't think Thurman here will allow Spence to exploit his weakness. Thurman has probably recovered already from his injury and has prepared for his comeback, so I don't really think that Spence aiming at Thurman's body would be a great strategy.

[Baofeng]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

Thurman survived against Pacman despite that 1st round knockdown, so I don't think Thurman here will allow Spence to exploit his weakness. Thurman has probably recovered already from his injury and has prepared for his comeback, so I don't really think that Spence aiming at Thurman's body would be a great strategy.

We are talking about the about of body shots that Thurman might absorb against Spence, not injury or something. I do agree that he survived against Pacman, but as you can see he started to slow down when he is hit in the body.

Here is the video of Thurman almost getting knock down by Manny's body punch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8152wanVI

And for the record, we didn't say that he has a body weakness, he himself admitted to that even after his last fight 9 months ago against Barrios:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRgAIzN4RDc

Listen to him post fight interview, he says that he felt different when he is touch on that part of his body, and that maybe his liver is sensitive.

And this is the video of that body shot: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JdUX1oP-I90

So it's a weakness that he has and no amount of training can strengthen his body to take blows.

And if Spence team is really that good, they will exploit it from the first round, uppercut to the body, any shot that will land in his liver/stomach.

[ultrloa]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

Thurman survived against Pacman despite that 1st round knockdown, so I don't think Thurman here will allow Spence to exploit his weakness. Thurman has probably recovered already from his injury and has prepared for his comeback, so I don't really think that Spence aiming at Thurman's body would be a great strategy.

So long he didn't get any fight and also his last match is quite decent since he regain reputation with that win so provably he will be careful upon meeting up with Spence in the ring for sure he don't want to happen again what he experience with Pacman since this will might be the last fight if he can get if Spence knock him out or he cannot provide good performance on that match.

[Fredomago]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

Thurman survived against Pacman despite that 1st round knockdown, so I don't think Thurman here will allow Spence to exploit his weakness. Thurman has probably recovered already from his injury and has prepared for his comeback, so I don't really think that Spence aiming at Thurman's body would be a great strategy.

So long he didn't get any fight and also his last match is quite decent since he regain reputation with that win so provably he will be careful upon meeting up with Spence in the ring for sure he don't want to happen again what he experience with Pacman since this will might be the last fight if he can get if Spence knock him out or he cannot provide good performance on that match.

He will as desire always in his mind to win a title, he will be more careful and he will think of those missed opportunity when he loss that fight against Pacquiao which should his turning point to hype his name and he should not be the one who's challenging the champ but he is the one who's choosing for his next fight.

We will see who among these two will survive and will be at hype after the fight, Spence is the favorite since he is the current champ while Spence backers will love to see him being an underdog to make a decent odd and if fate delivers the win for him the money that they will take would be awesome.

[inthelongrun]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

Thurman survived against Pacman despite that 1st round knockdown, so I don't think Thurman here will allow Spence to exploit his weakness. Thurman has probably recovered already from his injury and has prepared for his comeback, so I don't really think that Spence aiming at Thurman's body would be a great strategy.

We are talking about the about of body shots that Thurman might absorb against Spence, not injury or something. I do agree that he survived against Pacman, but as you can see he started to slow down when he is hit in the body.

Here is the video of Thurman almost getting knock down by Manny's body punch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8152wanVI

And for the record, we didn't say that he has a body weakness, he himself admitted to that even after his last fight 9 months ago against Barrios:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRgAIzN4RDc

Listen to him post fight interview, he says that he felt different when he is touch on that part of his body, and that maybe his liver is sensitive.

And this is the video of that body shot: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JdUX1oP-I90

So it's a weakness that he has and no amount of training can strengthen his body to take blows.

And if Spence team is really that good, they will exploit it from the first round, uppercut to the body, any shot that will land in his liver/stomach.

Right. Thurman will be chopped down and his head will fall. And he is not the same scary Thurman some years ago that has the athleticism and hunger with the intent to hurt opponents. Spence knows it based on his previous fights since his first return from inactivity. He knows Thurman doesn't have the same speed and can be hit and hurt. He knows Thurman will run away once he gets hurt. Although Thurman might land his own haymakers since Spence is not that good defensively.

IMO, I don't rate Thurman that highly nowadays. He remained very popular because of his name and he is a former unified champion. But I think Terrence Crawford's unpopular opponent yet earned his rank properly, David Avanesyan will beat the present version of Thurman.

[lionheart78]

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

If that is so, we might see Thurman getting stopped through a body punch in this fight.  If we look back on how Manny Pacquiao KD Thruman in the 1st round, it is set up by a body shot and a punch to the head.  The body shot makes Thurman's head slightly lean forward making Manny's punch deal more damage due to Thurman's head leaning forward.  Hopefully Thurman works this weakness out so that Spence will have no target to exploit during their fight.

We are talking about the about of body shots that Thurman might absorb against Spence, not injury or something. I do agree that he survived against Pacman, but as you can see he started to slow down when he is hit in the body.

Here is the video of Thurman almost getting knock down by Manny's body punch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8152wanVI

And for the record, we didn't say that he has a body weakness, he himself admitted to that even after his last fight 9 months ago against Barrios:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRgAIzN4RDc

Listen to him post fight interview, he says that he felt different when he is touch on that part of his body, and that maybe his liver is sensitive.

And this is the video of that body shot: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JdUX1oP-I90

So it's a weakness that he has and no amount of training can strengthen his body to take blows.

And if Spence team is really that good, they will exploit it from the first round, uppercut to the body, any shot that will land in his liver/stomach.

I think there is training to strengthen the muscle on part of the body but I think it needs more than two months to train it.  Unless Thurman had been training his body resistance to punches since the loss to Pacquiao, I do not think Thurman can survive if Spence starts targeting his body in their fight.  And at the video link, it seems Thurman isn't successful in hardening his body muscle to withstand strong body punches.  So yeah, I might see Thurman getting stopped in this fight if Spence exploits that weakness.

[Kemarit]

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

If that is so, we might see Thurman getting stopped through a body punch in this fight.  If we look back on how Manny Pacquiao KD Thruman in the 1st round, it is set up by a body shot and a punch to the head.  The body shot makes Thurman's head slightly lean forward making Manny's punch deal more damage due to Thurman's head leaning forward.  Hopefully Thurman works this weakness out so that Spence will have no target to exploit during their fight.

We are talking about the about of body shots that Thurman might absorb against Spence, not injury or something. I do agree that he survived against Pacman, but as you can see he started to slow down when he is hit in the body.

Here is the video of Thurman almost getting knock down by Manny's body punch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g8152wanVI

And for the record, we didn't say that he has a body weakness, he himself admitted to that even after his last fight 9 months ago against Barrios:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRgAIzN4RDc

Listen to him post fight interview, he says that he felt different when he is touch on that part of his body, and that maybe his liver is sensitive.

And this is the video of that body shot: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JdUX1oP-I90

So it's a weakness that he has and no amount of training can strengthen his body to take blows.

And if Spence team is really that good, they will exploit it from the first round, uppercut to the body, any shot that will land in his liver/stomach.

I think there is training to strengthen the muscle on part of the body but I think it needs more than two months to train it.  Unless Thurman had been training his body resistance to punches since the loss to Pacquiao, I do not think Thurman can survive if Spence starts targeting his body in their fight.  And at the video link, it seems Thurman isn't successful in hardening his body muscle to withstand strong body punches.  So yeah, I might see Thurman getting stopped in this fight if Spence exploits that weakness.

Probably train like Muay Thai boxers? I mean there are videos like someone is using a wooden stick and attack that body part. Not sure though if Thurman can absorb it as a way to strengthen that part.

He could still has that power in both hands, and that strategy will play a big part heart, Thurman has the experience. He just had to protect himself from those vicious body shot as that will be the first strategy of Spence, to soften him up and maybe the first man to stop him.

[Fredomago]

Right. Thurman will be chopped down and his head will fall. And he is not the same scary Thurman some years ago that has the athleticism and hunger with the intent to hurt opponents. Spence knows it based on his previous fights since his first return from inactivity. He knows Thurman doesn't have the same speed and can be hit and hurt. He knows Thurman will run away once he gets hurt. Although Thurman might land his own haymakers since Spence is not that good defensively.

IMO, I don't rate Thurman that highly nowadays. He remained very popular because of his name and he is a former unified champion. But I think Terrence Crawford's unpopular opponent yet earned his rank properly, David Avanesyan will beat the present version of Thurman.

Still has his name to protect, though he don't have the title and that last win against Barrios still a big question for him to have this quick chance to fight in a title match, he needed to prove something and it will be a tough fight for him. Just like how you observe, he might be running once he feels the conversions from Spence, knowing Spence as a heavy puncher and if he converts he will keep chasing you till he able to box you.

Yeah the advantage still favoring Spence comparing to Thurman last fight, Spence beat Ugas who beats Pacquiao with good defense nd counter fighting style.

[btc_angela]

But you can see that after he was beaten by Manny, it took him some time to recover and bounce back, and who is his opponent when he try to make a comeback? Mario Barrios who is not a natural 147 lbs.

So that alone is already a contention as to why he cherry pick Barrios. But I guess he was just lucky that he is still with PBC and so he was given the green light or at least being mandated to fight Spence. So it's a question whether he still has the fire or not, but hopefully the hunger is still inside of him in this fight.

All will be answered once the fight start to roll, the conclusion of the fight will tell it all whether he still have that fire inside him to win the belt or it was a lucky comeback fight against Barrios, who's not really on this division, I see it clearly in what extent you wanted to point here but Thurman may give Spence a hard time since both of them are still young and still on their prime in terms of body conditions.

A matter of how prepared and what kind of trainings and drills they will be undergoing to find ways to beat one another.

Of course, what we do here is speculate as we have our own conclusions before the actual fight. But we can tell not just this two, but those other boxer in the past that they are only good in their last fight. They might be in their primes no doubt about it, but who is more active in the last 2 years and who did suffer a lost.

That alone could be again, another way how you are going to see this fight in your mind. How will it play out, Spence is now the champion and Thurman just fought 2x after his recover from injury. Actually 3 if we will consider Lopez which he defeated by not convincingly. And then Manny, he lost, Barrios he win but another close call.

[ajochems]

This fight going to be big fight, both the participants are equal with their strength and strategy. Thurman had the reputation already in the championship. He had won three times of the game he played. Even Thurman not in the top 5 position, his game was impressive in the boxing league. His game and tactics helped them to score the points and with three championship. He is recovered from the injury and will make the good game for the upcoming matches. Being a good fighter, his match will show his current form.

[mirakal]

^^ Yes, even in the Pacquiao fight, his training or at least when he do the his drills, he is somewhat very slow and not that agile. Maybe that's how Thurman's training is, not focusing on the speed but power because he want's to try to knockout his opponent, and even before he was knock down or lost the fight to Manny, he is known to have that punching power.

So there's no difference it training at all for him, but I think he is more faster that Ugas that Spence recently beat. But has more power behind it. He had Manny in trouble in the later rounds, it's that his weakness was a body punch and when Manny hit him in the stomach, he somewhat wince, meaning he is affected.

For sure Spence team knows that, and Spence also throws a lot of body punch in the Ugas fight and we can see that it has power behind because Ugas will react and then tuck his elbow under him for protection.

So Spence is a good to decent body puncher, base on his stats against Ugas:

216 punches thrown, 70/784 = 27.6 %

So maybe a couple of body shots might hurt Thurman here. But still though, this is going to be a very close fight that might go to the scorecard.

Thurman survived against Pacman despite that 1st round knockdown, so I don't think Thurman here will allow Spence to exploit his weakness. Thurman has probably recovered already from his injury and has prepared for his comeback, so I don't really think that Spence aiming at Thurman's body would be a great strategy.

There's no way that Thurman haven't at least improved from that loss against Pacquiao. I reckon that he might have won that fight if not because of the early knockdown he experienced, that was the driving point why the judges favored Pacquiao and not him. This time, I know that Thurman will not take the same path because he will be predicted by Spence and surely he doesn't want to be in that position again.

If Spence will eventually defeat Thurman, I guess this will be the end of his career because I don't see him competing again if he will be defeated. That is why this fight is interesting enough to see because both boxers cannot afford the consequence that they will deal when they get defeated.

[Ziskinberg]

This fight going to be big fight, both the participants are equal with their strength and strategy. Thurman had the reputation already in the championship. He had won three times of the game he played. Even Thurman not in the top 5 position, his game was impressive in the boxing league. His game and tactics helped them to score the points and with three championship. He is recovered from the injury and will make the good game for the upcoming matches.

Everyone is expecting that Spence will win, but we have Thurman who is not a champion but still fight like a Champion. I'm glad that Spence take this challenge although it's mandatory now, but the fact that Spence fighting a legit challenger, that will make this fight very interesting compared to the fight of Crawford.

[Baofeng]

This fight going to be big fight, both the participants are equal with their strength and strategy. Thurman had the reputation already in the championship. He had won three times of the game he played. Even Thurman not in the top 5 position, his game was impressive in the boxing league. His game and tactics helped them to score the points and with three championship. He is recovered from the injury and will make the good game for the upcoming matches.

Everyone is expecting that Spence will win, but we have Thurman who is not a champion but still fight like a Champion. I'm glad that Spence take this challenge although it's mandatory now, but the fact that Spence fighting a legit challenger, that will make this fight very interesting compared to the fight of Crawford.

It's also because most of the 147 lbs fighters are into the stable of Al Haymon in PBC that's why it's easy to made. As compare to Crawford which has to settle on Avanesyan on his next fight as he can't find a good dance partner.

And that is why he is still being criticized eventhough is no longer with Top Rank.

But as a I have said, PBC controls that division and they have Thurman and Spence to fight next and obviously the winner will all be in house money and belt for them.