Keith Thurman vs. Leonard Bundu: Preview and Prediction for Welterweight Fight
Saturday night in Las Vegas, one of the hottest young fighters in the sport, Keith Thurman, returns to action against European welterweight champion Leonard Bundu of Italy. Both fighters enter this bout undefeated.
Fans have been anxious to see how Thurman will do as he steps up in competition. It's hard to know if Bundu will be a significant test.
Bundu has never lost, but he's also 40. And his level of competition has been below what Thurman has faced.
Either way, "One Time" is among the most exciting current boxers on the scene. So it's always an event when Thurman takes the ring.
Tale of the Tapes
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| Per Boxrec | Keith Thurman | Leonard Bundu |
| Record: | 23-0, 21 KOs | 31-0, 11 KOs |
| Height: | 5'7.5" | 5'6.5" |
| Reach: | 69" | Unlisted |
| Weight: | 147 lbs | 147 lbs |
| Age: | 26 | 40 |
| Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown: | Clearwater, Florida | Cisterna, Italy |
| Rounds: | 81 | 207 |
These are two undefeated contenders, but 14 years separate them in age. Bundu's reach is unlisted, but I'd judge he's giving up at least an inch or so to Thurman.
Bundu lives in Italy and represented it in the 2000 Olympics, but he is a native of Sierra Leone. Boxrec has his stance listed as orthodox, but I've seen him fight southpaw as often as conventional.
Main Storylines
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Keith Thurman is one of the hottest rising stars in the sport. He's undefeated in 23 fights and stopped 21 of his opponents. He's shown electrifying power and solid ring intelligence in his young career.
Although he has yet to face an elite opponent, fans are already talking about him as one of boxing's next potential superstars. To be clear, he has looked amazing against some tough, second-tier opposition.
In July 2013, he made smart mid-fight adjustments against Diego Chavez and knocked the Argentine out in Round 10. He stopped the rugged journeyman Jesus Soto Karass by Round 9 TKO a year ago.
Last April, former lightweight champion Julio Diaz was forced to quit on his stool after Round 3, following a brutal body shot.
Thurman is also an engaging personality. He's a kind of warrior-philospher. He is extremely self-confident, but not in a grating, boastful manner.
Leonard Bundu represented Italy in the 2000 Olympics and turned professional in 2005. But his professional career has developed in an extremely slow manner.
Although Bundu is the undefeated, European champion, he is 40 and has yet to face a top-shelf opponent. His last two wins are his best. Last August, he beat fellow unbeaten Frankie Gavin by split decision. Last December, he stopped Lee Purdy by TKO in Round 12.
Strengths
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Keith Thurman is a boxer-puncher. He has dangerous, fight-ending power in both fists and throws a wide selection of punches.
He has also demonstrated a high ring intelligence and technical skill. At least so far in his career, he has looked like the total package as a fighter.
Leonard Bundu is a compact, rugged pressure fighter. He is a skilled, yet idiosyncratic, fighter. He throws quick, jarring feints with his feet, shoulders and heads.
He also switches from orthodox to southpaw and back again at a dizzying rate. He presents an opponent with a confusing variety of looks.
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Weaknesses
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Keith Thurman has shown little in the way of weaknesses so far in his career. But it's important to remember that he has yet to be seriously tested in the ring.
I could personally be driving the guy's bandwagon at this point, but it's important to remember that nobody has seen how he'll handle adversity or react to another truly gifted fighter.
Leonard Bundu has a habit of moving forward in quick hops. If Thurman can get a sense of Bundu's rhythm, he could land some brutal punches on the European champion.
With a knockout percentage of just 33 percent, I have to wonder if Bundu really has the pop to come forward on a puncher like Thurman.
Keith Thurman Will Win If...
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Keith Thurman needs to stay patient and spend at least the first round or two studying Leonard Bundu to get a sense of his idiosyncratic style. He should use his jab and straight right to maintain some space and then look to time Bundu's forward movement.
Bundu's habit of feinting with his feet means he is sometimes nearly hopping as he moves in. If Thurman can land a heavy shot on Bundu when the Italian is bouncing forward, off balance, this fight could end very quickly.
Bundu bounces from orthodox to southpaw and back over and over again throughout a round. Thurman should attempt to apply heavy pressure at the very instant he does this, making it impossible for Bundu to reset.
Bundu changes levels well, but Thurman might be able to combat that with uppercuts and shovel hooks. Thurman is very good at punching from angles.
Bundu does a nice job of sliding into range and throwing hard body shots from underneath. Thurman has to be prepared for that. But I think if Thurman is able to launch his own offensive assault, it won't matter too much what Bundu does.
Leonard Bundu Will Win If...
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I like the way Leonard Bundu moves forward behind a wide variety of feints. He uses his shoulders, head and feet to create a lot of uncertainty, and he should be able to give Keith Thurman some confusing looks that the young star has never seen before.
But Bundu had better be mixing in some busy punching with those feints, or Thurman will simply move forward and deliver his own big artillery. Bundu needs to move in behind a jab and then look to deliver chopping shovel hooks to Thurman's torso.
I am not crazy about Bundu's frantic switching back and forth between orthodox and southpaw. It has created plenty of confusion against lower-tier opponents, but Thurman has the boxing smarts to get a read on that gimmick and the explosive power to land all over Bundu before he's even got his feet set.
I'm not saying Bundu should abandon switch hitting altogether. But he needs to be more selective and spend more time actually making some things happen from one side or the other.
To beat a hungry young lion like Thurman, Bundu will need to stay busy with his pressure but defensively intelligent throughout. He's got to move into range, open Thurman up for scoring, then get out of the way before Thurman comes back at him.
Prediction
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I was not all that familiar with Leonard Bundu prior to watching a lot of video of him this week, while preparing this preview. I find his style entertaining. While he lacks substantial power, he's a physical, busy boxer.
But Keith Thurman is a bigger, quicker, younger fighter, with dangerous power. Bundu is 40. He's a well-preserved 40, but it's still 40.
And it's not like he has the advantage of "veteran experience" here, either. Bundu is a 40-year-old fighter who has faced a lower level of competition than the 26-year-old Thurman. Bundu might be a step up for Thurman, but Thurman looks to me like a major step up for Bundu.
This could be an entertaining fight with some competitive exchanges. But look for Thurman to stay patient while setting up the timing for his big punches. I like Thurman by KO in 5.
Thurman's next fight after this one should be against another top welterweight. I would like to see him fight Kell Brook.
If he looks exciting enough on Saturday, and there's a good chance he will, don't be surprised if fans start clamoring for him to face Floyd Mayweather, despite Thurman's lack of experience in big-time fights.
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