Thurman celebrates his win over Leonard Bundu. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
Keith Thurman will face off against brawler Robert Guerrero as part of the double-header debut of Premier Boxing Champions on March 7 in Las Vegas. NBC will broadcast the bout (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT).
Thurman (24-0, 21 KOs), who was recently elevated from interim champion to full welterweight champion by the World Boxing Association, says he is ready to face his biggest test to date when he meets ‘The Ghost’ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“[Guerrero’s] never been stopped and when I hear a fighter’s never been stopped, I hear that as a challenge,” said Thurman in a recent media conference call.
Thurman, 26 years old, comes to the fight having previously outpointed Leonard Bundu in a tactical chess match in December 2014. Before Bundu, Thurman had stopped Julio Dian and veteran Jesus Soto Karass.
“Last fight we got a knockdown, so I satisfied a little bit of the puncher in me by producing a knockdown in the first round of the last fight,” the Clearwater, Florida native said. “I just wasn’t able to put the icing on the cake by cutting the bow short. We’re going to be training extremely hard for this fight. We’re truly looking forward to the challenge that ‘The Ghost’ is going to bring and we are looking forward to having a fight that goes less than 12 rounds, but we will be prepared no matter what the outcome.”
Robert Guerrero battles Yoshihiro Kamegai (R) in their welterweight bout at StubHub Center on June 21, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Guerrero won by unanimous decision. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
In his previous fight, 31-year-old Robert Guerrero ( 32-2-1, 18 KO’s) defeated Yoshihiro Kamegai in a savage 2014 Fight of the Year candidate at the StubHub Center in California. That bout followed Guerrero’s loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2013.
“[Guerrero’s] an active fighter,” Thurman said. “He will fight you on the inside. He’ll try to hit you with his power punches from the outside. He’s truly a fighter. He wants to fight and if you’re holding him or he’s holding you, that doesn’t mean that he’s going to stop fighting. He will keep fighting every second of the fight.“
The March 7 fight helps to inaugurate enigmatic manager Al Haymon’s new Premier Boxing Champions series. Also co-featured on the evening’s card, former WBA World welterweight champion Adrien Broner takes on John Molina Jr.
“We’re training hard. We’re getting ready,” said Thurman. “Everybody’s stoked. A lot of people are looking forward to what’s about to happen in the world of boxing and we’re all looking forward to March 7th. So let’s do this.”
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Keith Thurman: I’m Going To Do My Job