Keith Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) showed that he still has something left in his fuel tank, scoring a third round TKO victory over Brock Jarvis (22-2, 20 KOs) in a junior middleweight bout on Wednesday night at the Hordern Pavilion, Sydney.
The first two rounds had minimal action, as Thurman was moving around, throwing slow single shots, trying to keep out of the way of the much younger 27-year-old Jarvis. In the third, ‘One Time’ Thurman landed a couple of hard body shots, then dropped Brock with a right hand upstairs. Jarvis barely beat the referee’s count but looked in sorry shape.
Ring Rust Evident
Thurman stormed after his injured prey, and knocked him down with a beautiful left hook to the head. Jarvis fell back first on the canvas from that punch. The referee Will Soulos immediately waived it off. The time was at 2:19 of the third.
Despite the victory, 36-year-old Thurman showed a lot of ring rust, with his once impressive hand and foot speed gone after three years of inactivity and only one fight in the last six years.
Tonight, Keithi had the ideal opponent for him to look good, as Jarvis had shown chin problems when he fought at 135 and 140. He’d been knocked out in the first round by Liam Paro in 2022, and hurt against lightweight Alejandro Frias Rodriguez in 2021.
Some negatives come from that performance from Thurman, as he did not look anywhere near the level he’d been in his best years or even in his last fight in 2022 against Mario Barrios. Sitting on the sofa for three years will do that to anyone, especially for a fighter in their mid-30s like Thurman.
Tszyu Next?
The former WBC and WBO welterweight champion Thurman did not look anywhere near the level he needs to be for him to have a chance of defeating former WBO 154-lb champion Tim Tszyu in the summer in Sydney, Australia. Thurman will be fighting him next, provided he makes it through training camp without getting injured like last year when he pulled out.
It’s a good money fight for Thurman, but I have serious doubts he’ll win. Even though Tszyu has lost his last two fights, he’s a lot better than what Thurman showed tonight, and he wouldn’t fold with the shots that Jarvis was knocked out with.
