Keith Thurman Looking to Rise Up and Stand Out in Loaded Welterweight Division

Keith Thurman knows that he needs to make a statement.

Boxing’s loaded welterweight division will take center stage with a trio of high-profile bouts emanating from the Nevada desert on Dec. 13, and it’s impossible to ignore the opportunity for comparisons between so many top-10 fighters in the same weight class.

Thurman will fight on the same night as Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan and Devon Alexander, and with so many names competing for a limited number of big-fight opportunities, he knows the stakes are high.

“When you’ve got that many welterweights performing on the same night, you know, there’s going to be a lot of talk. You know that Twitter and all of the social media is going to go crazy at around midnight, and I’m looking forward to it,” Thurman told an international media conference call on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m just really happy to be getting back into the ring. I’m really happy to showcase my skills and my talents once again...and overall, I do put in my head, in the back of my mind that not only do I want to win, but I would like to outperform every welterweight that steps in the ring that night.”

Thurman, the undefeated interim WBA welterweight champion, will defend his second-tier title against unbeaten Italian-based challenger Leonard Bundu on the undercard of Khan vs. Alexander.

Making a statement against a fighter that few fans have ever heard of is a tall task.

It’s a less-than-enviable position for Thurman, who has only seen a couple of rounds of in-ring action this year after a breakout 2013 campaign.

The 40-year-old challenger has never fought outside of Europe, where he’s proven to be a pretty competent fighter, and has zero name recognition stateside.

Still, Bundu did go on the road and take a hard-fought decision from previously unbeaten Frankie Gavin his last time out, and Thurman remains guarded against underestimating his foe.

“I’m extremely excited to be going up against an undefeated fighter who was an Olympian, who will present a European style. We have seen the the skills that Kell Brook brought to the table when he fought Shawn Porter,” said Thurman.

“It’s interesting, man. A lot of people in the United States don’t know Bundu, but we know that the Europeans can box, and for him to be an Olympian, he doesn’t feel 40. Age is just a number to him.”

Eric Gay/Associated Press

It’s understandable for Thurman to reference Porter’s struggles against Brook, given the close personal relationship between the two young guns.

One Time and Showtime have been good friends for years, and a fair bit of time was dedicated to hyping a potential unification showdown between the two before Brook deflated the tire with an upset win.

Nobody is saying Porter didn’t take Brook’s challenge seriously, but the general point is to never say never.

Bundu, however, isn’t even considered a live underdog—certainly not in the way Brook was—coming into this fight, despite being a 2000 Olympian and knocking off unbeaten fighters in four of his last eight bouts.

But what’s Thurman to do?

Part of being a professional is taking nothing for granted, and Thurman has certainly mastered that piece of the job.

He says all the right things about his foe.

“In his last fight, he fought a young man who was 28 years old and fought him in his home town and beat him,” Thurman said.

“He is a smart boxer and an intelligent fighter, and it’s going to be a great fight.”

Fans and media have the luxury of underestimating Bundu, but Thurman most certainly does not.

Not when he’s being talked up as a future lottery contender for the Floyd Mayweather sweepstakes.

The pound-for-pound king has two fights remaining on his Showtime contract, and barring an overdue showdown with Manny Pacquiao, quality opponents are in short supply.

Thurman refused to take the bait when Mayweather’s name was dropped—he has in the past but not this time—instead remaining focused on the task at hand.

One Time gets it.

The future begins now, one fight at a time.

“A great future is great, but you must focus on the present because without focusing on the present, you will never get to the future,” he said.

“The time is now. The bout is December 13, Leonard Bundu. I’m 26-years-old, and I learn from every experience, and I’m truly looking forward to the challenges that we may present that night, overcoming those challenges, walking away with the victory, and moving on in my career. But first, we must perform great come December 13.”

Kevin McRae is a featured boxing columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.