Former unified world champion Keith “One Time” Thurman plans to stamp his place as a future first ballot of famer when he challenges WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora headlining a PBC Pay-Per-View event available on Prime Video taking place Saturday, March 28 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“This will definitely solidify me as a Hall of Famer,” said Thurman. “This is just a beautiful opportunity. The last time I held a world title was in 2019. I don’t think anyone from that generation has a story like this. Boxing loves great comeback stories and this as a modern day story right now. This is what boxing movies are all about. It’s been done, it can be done and it’s gonna be done again. I’m looking forward to solidifying my place in boxing history.”
This matchup was originally scheduled to take place last October, before a Fundora hand injury caused the delay. While Thurman, who’s had several fights delayed or cancelled throughout his career, was initially disheartened by the news, he took solace in a certain delicious outside the ring pleasure, before turning his attention back to chopping down Fundora.
“At the time it just felt like it was hard to catch a break,” said Thurman. “But I know how to be patient. Now the fight’s happening and they say good things come to those who wait. Only thing I did after the delay was take my daughter to eat ice cream every day for a week. Might as well enjoy it for a second before we got back track for this matchup.”
On March 28, Thurman will enter the ring for the second time led by veteran trainer Tony Morgan, who trained Andre Berto to world championship glory and who’s known Thurman since the amateurs. After longtime trainer Dan Birmingham’s retirement, Thurman feels lucky that his corner has always been led by someone familiar with Thurman for decades.
“One of the reasons why I chose Tony Morgan is because we go way back,” said Thurman. “There aren’t a lot of people who know Keith Thurman the way Tony Morgan knows Keith Thurman. He was very close friends with my first coach Ben Getty. We’ve had a great relationship since my youth. I didn’t pick Tony to replace my coach, my coach Dan Birmingham retired.
“Unlike a lot of fighters, I’m very blessed to have trainers who really know my history and my background. Tony Morgan is a world class trainer who’s had Olympians and world champions and he’s extremely qualified for the job. I love working with people who understand me. He sees what I see, which is what can be taken advantage of in this fight.”
While Thurman was eager to return to world champion status, the fight with Fundora was not one that had been in his mind for very long before originally being agreed to last year. Fundora was still early on his rise up the 154-pound ranks when Thurman was atop the welterweight division. However, after Fundora replaced an injured Thurman to face Tim Tszyu in 2024, Thurman began to see a potential future clash as his road to reclaiming a belt.
“Fundora wasn’t a big name when he was first coming up and I was yet to enter the division,” said Thurman. “He’s so tall that you weren’t sure if he was going to be moving up to other weight classes. It didn’t really cross my mind until he took my spot when I got hurt before the Tim Tszyu fight. I knew that I wanted to win a world title and once he won his rematch, I knew my path to the world title was gonna go through Fundora.”
As fight week near, Thurman has promised fans a memorable, action-packed clash on March 28, and believes he has the ring savvy and power to end the action before the final bell.
“March 28 the world is gonna see one of the best fights of the year,” said Thurman. “Fundora really comes to fight and I truly come to fight. There’s a lot of potential for some great back and forth. I’m gonna look to set traps, drop those heavy hammers on him and hopefully go home early. Fundora’s never seen anything like this.”
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