Keith Thurman will make his long-awaited comeback after three years out of the ring to fight Brock Jarvis on March 12th in a 154-lb contest at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia.
The Aussie Jarvis (22-1, 20 KOs) will be a good test to show whether ‘One Time’ Thurman has anything left after the latest long layoff. Keith has only fought three times in the last eight years, and it’s clear that physically and motivation-wise, he’s no lot cut out for being a full-time fighter.
One Time’s Back
Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) last fought in 2022, beating Mario Barrios, and it’s taken him longer than expected to find his way back to the ring. He was supposed to fight former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu last year in March, but an injury foiled that.
If Keith can win this fight, a match against Tszyu is possible. Again, it will require that Thurman not suffer another injury that would cause a cancellation.
“Jarvis will headline a shock Sydney showcase on March 12 against Thurman,” per Fox Sports Australia.
It’ll be interesting to know Thurman’s goal is for his comeback. If he’s aiming high, he could target Terence Crawford or Canelo Alvarez. Those would be fights that would give him a nice payday and give him some bumming around money to sit for another three years.
Thurman has been out of action for so long, it’s going to be a minor miracle for him to make it through training camp without getting hurt again. It’s age, inactivity and a history of injuries one after another that makes ‘One Time’ Thurman completely unreliable.
Three years ago, Thurman was coming off a 2.5-year layoff when he defeated former WBA 140-lb paper champion Mario Barrios on February 5, 2022. Thurman’s previous fight before that was a 12-round split decision loss to 40-year-old Manny Pacquiao on July 20, 2019.
It won’t be surprising at all if Brock Jarvis beats Thurman just based on youth and activity rather than talent.
On paper, Jarvis shouldn’t win because he’s not world-class, but he’s a lot younger than Thurman and more motivated to keep busy. Thurman is a 36-year-old. He’s not like 37-year-old Terence Crawford, who still seems young for his age, even though he only fights once a year.
