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Keith Thurman feels his extended layoff will only help him in the end, ring rust notwithstanding. (photo by Ryan Hafey)
That’s because for the first time since 2019, says the former welterweight titleholder, he has a healthy left hand.
Thurman will break out of the two-and-a-half year absence from the ring on Feb. 5 when he takes on Mario Barrios at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
The Clearwater, Florida native injured his left hand during a closer-than-expected bout against perpetual trial horse Josesito Lopez in January 2019; Thurman won a majority decision.
Despite the injury and contemplating surgery, Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) ended up fighting again that summer, against Manny Pacquiao. Thurman said there was no chance he could turn down a shot at the Hall of Famer; Thurman wound up losing a split decision. After that bout, Thurman went into hibernation to take care of the hand.
Yet this was not the first time Thurman went on a long sabbatical. Thurman had to take off another two years after his title-winning performance against Danny Garcia in 2017 in order to treat an elbow injury that required surgery.
“It’s a longer layoff, but I just feel better,” Thurman said on The Porter Way Podcast. “I feel so much better. I kind of know why. My hand’s not injured no more.”
Thurman remembers how it felt fighting injured, particularly in the Lopez fight.
“My hand was injured in the Josesito fight and it was the first time in my career, this dude is swinging at me, my head goes, ‘I’ve got no intention of swinging at you the way you swinging at me,’ Thurman recalled. “Not like I’m gonna tell you that in the clinch or anything like that. But for the first fight ever, he’s swinging at me like they’re coming from Tijuana. I know he’s from California, but he stretched them arms back like they were coming from Tijuana.
“He was swinging at me, bro. He was like, ‘if I’mma get Thurman it’s tonight.’ I was like, ‘It’s not tonight but I see you trying, bro.’”
The last time Thurman scored a stoppage win was in 2015 against Luis Collazo. Now, for the first time in nearly half a decade, Thurman can say he is truly healthy. Against Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs), a career 140-pounder, Thurman believes he can deliver his usual power punches without any inhibitions.
“I didn’t have it in me to hit [Lopez] like that,” Thurman said. “I don’t know if it was just because of my hand injury, I had another good hand, but I wasn’t ready to take it to that level. I think I feel better, because I know that I can implement my power. I want to showcase my power in this fight once again.”