It's been nearly two years since Keith Thurman last stepped foot in the ring, but after surgery and injuries, the welterweight champion is ready to go.
The undefeated Thurman, who is the current WBA "super" welterweight champion, is set to fight for the first time since March 2017 when he steps foot in the ring in January 2019. With less than a month before Thurman fights Josesito Lopez, Thurman spoke to the media regarding how he is feeling physically.
Thurman stated that he feels good and that a fight against Lopez is the type of fight that he needs to test his body. The fight is set to headline a PBC on Fox card on January 26, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the site of Thurman's last fight, which saw him defeat Danny Garcia to unify the WBA and WBC titles.
"I feel great physically. We're working really hard and just getting back into everything we did before the injury... I need fights like this against a guy like Josesito Lopez. He's going to be there and give the fans a great fight. He's coming to take me out. He looked like he was in shape a month ago when I first saw him," Thurman said.
Since that victory over Garcia, Thurman had to undergo elbow surgery, which shut him down for the remainder of 2017. Thurman was originally supposed to come back in May 2018, but he suffered another injury, which later postponed his in-ring return. Thurman would go on to vacate the WBC title, which was later won by Shawn Porter in September.
Now that Thurman is coming back to the ring, the WBC previously ruled that Thurman could challenge for the title he surrendered whenever he feels ready. Thurman and Porter had previously fought in 2016 with Thurman coming out on top.
