Keith Thurman Explains Why He Never Fought Errol Spence Jr.

Published 06/14/2021, 2:00 PM EDT

Former welterweight champion Keith Thurman has been one of the biggest names in the division for a while now. However, he is yet to enter the ring against unified champion Errol Spence Jr., and ‘One-Time’ has now revealed the truth behind their failed bout.

Thurman held the WBA welterweight regular belt for four years until he faced Spence Jr.’s next opponent, Manny Pacquiao. However, before ‘The Truth’ could think of facing ‘Pac Man,’ rumors suggested he would face Thurman, and Spence Jr. even accused Thurman of ducking him.

Now, the 29-1 boxer has revealed why the fight never happened despite the call out from Errol Spence Jr. Thurman spoke to FightHype.com and said, “When EJ first said my name, he ain’t say my name. It wasn’t you, it was something, somebody else told you to do, alright? It’s like, ‘Sir, yes Sir.’ You’re listening to others, it ain’t come from your heart, you know what I mean.”

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Thus, this statement from Thurman showed he felt Spence Jr. did not really want to face him. Instead, he was merely taking instructions from someone else. Regardless of the reason, fans missed out on an exciting welterweight fight.

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Keith Thurman says Errol Spence Jr. should have called out Floyd Mayweather

The incident Thurman is referring to is from before Spence Jr. became a world champion. ‘The Truth’ was on a 16-fight unbeaten streak and wanted a world title shot. And Thurman has now fired back at him by saying Spence Jr. should have called out Mayweather instead.

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‘One-Time’ explained his comments by saying, “Well, look back at that old fight reference when he first said my name, and before he said my name, he said Floyd’s name. He said, ‘I want to call out Floyd Mayweather. Oh wait, I mean… Keith One-Time Thurman.’ Like bro, bro… why didn’t you just call out Mayweather that day? You want to go for the top, Mayweather was still an active fighter, why didn’t you just call out Mayweather?”

Thus, with this comment, Thurman showed why he believes Errol Spence Jr. never wanted to fight him. Furthermore, he questioned the champion’s attitude by accusing him of following others’ instructions and not calling out the best.

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What do you make of these comments from Keith Thurman? Do you think there’s some truth to it?

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Leonardo Carvalho is a Boxing Writer for EssentiallySports. Before working as a boxing web journalist, Leonardo dabbled in roles ranging from an SEO specialist to a Chegg expert. Alongside his current role, Leonardo runs a YouTube channel where he combines his passion for fitness with sports.

Keith Thurman Explains Why He Never Fought Errol Spence Jr.

Keith Thurman says Errol Spence Jr. should have called out Floyd Mayweather

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