Undefeated rising star, Keith Thurman, passed another tough test on Nov. 24, knocking out Carlos Quintana during the fourth round of their encounter at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.
With the win, Thurman secured the WBO NABO light-middleweight belt — his first belt — and at this point, it’s pretty obvious there’s a lot more to the 24 year-old than just hype.
Thurman (19-0-0, 18 KOs) came out swinging against Quintana (29-4-0, 23 KOs), hurting him early and often. By the fourth round, Quintana couldn’t even keep himself upright without the help of the ropes, and referee Jack Reiss wisely stepped in and stopped the fight.
After the bout, the 36 year-old Quintana announced his retirement from boxing.
Happy with his performance, Thurman called out all fighters at 147 and 154 pounds, making it clear that he’s willing to take on all comers.
“I’ve been in the ring with the best since I was 10 years old,” Thurman told Max Kellerman shortly after the fight. … I’m young and I got heart, but I’m old in the mind. … I’m calling out the world of boxing. Anybody in the world of boxing [147 or 154 pounds] can get some of Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman. Call Al Haymon, you know the number.”
Even though Thurman’s boxing career seems to be headed in the right direction, he still has a lot to learn about the sweet science. Clearly, Thurman is blessed with exceptional punching power, but he could set up his attacks lot better. Keith has a tendency to leave openings when he attacks, and he’ll need to fix the holes in his game if he wants to be able to compete and defeat the best boxers in the world.
Thurman comes off as a highly motivated prospect, so he should continue to improve with time. He’s not quite ready for the likes of Floyd Mayweather and other top welterweights and light-middleweights, but he does have all the physical gifts needed to get there.
David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner that has watched and studied MMA for the past 7 years. Follow him on Twitter @davidkingwriter and check out his blog.
Sources:
Fight and fighter information from BoxRec.com and HBO broadcast
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