"I'm pretty sure that he can do all that he can do, but one thing is, out of all the champions, I still believe that my punching power is still above anybody that he fought, so that's going to be something new...the punching power is there from the beginning to the end. We want the knockouts," stated undefeated welterweight champion Keith Thurman, who spoke during a recent conference call about his upcoming July 11 clash with former world champion Luis Collazo. Check out what else he had to say!
Keith Thurman: Hi everybody how you doing? It's a pleasure to be here. I'm looking forward to July 11 in Tampa Bay, Florida defending my world title in my hometown. Me and my whole team are truly excited. We respect Luis Collazo and we're looking forward to having a great performance and challenge on July 11.
Q: Can you explain to me where you view the prospect of you becoming a significant star in boxing and perhaps some of your reluctance about that?
KT: Well, at the end of the day, I'm just Keith Thurman and I just enjoy being the person that I am. I enjoy some of the spotlight, but there are moments where it can be a little overwhelming. I'm looking forward to being champion; it's in my dreams being champion and state champion and being one of the major champions in the sport of the world of boxing. Right now, I believe I'm one of the most talked about welterweights currently in the division.
The fans are loving my excitement and they loved the last showdown with Robert Guerrero on the opener for NBC. Now we're opening ESPN and it's another blessing, it's a pleasure. I believe Al is recognizing my hard work and dedication to the sport and we're just going to try to keep moving forward, man, and hopefully just live up to the hype.
Q: Keith what is it that you believe can be overwhelming?
KT: This camp in general, I've had more appearances that I normally make. More interviews and less time to myself, less time to stick to my regimen, so I had to make adjustments and I'm just going to have to get used to making these adjustments, especially when you're on this stage and you're making these kind of paychecks. I used to think it was all boxing, but now I'm understanding the business and that's all that I'm really trying to wrap my mind around.
I'm 26-years-old, a young guy, and we're learning constantly in the sport of boxing in the ring and outside of the ring in the sport of boxing. I try to stay level headed, I try to stay humble and do the best I can. I'm looking forward to the career that's ahead of me.
Q: What is it about Collazo that you think that could give you little bit of trouble or make you look really excellent?
KT: Well, he's going to do his best to not allow me to look excellent. He's going to do his best to make the upset in my hometown and he has an opportunity to become the world champion. So I'm pretty sure that he can do all that he can do, but one thing is, out of all the champions, I still believe that my punching power is still above anybody that he fought, so that's going to be something new.
A lot of people, they watch this and they watch that, but they don't know how the punches feel and I'm looking forward to a great, intense fight.
Q: Keith, I just want to get your thoughts on the label as a knockout artist and whether or not you think that's something important to you.
KT: Well, at the end of the day, I still hold one of the highest knockout ratios in the welterweight division. At this level, no fighter is coming to get knocked out, they know what they're up against, and they know they're up against dangerous fighters. The number one rule in boxing is protect yourself at all times and they're aware of that. They're trying to box hard, they're trying to be crafty and outdo me, but you can watch both fights and there was still a knockout in both fights.
The Bundu fight, happened in the first round; the Guerrero happened in the ninth round. So the punching power is there from the beginning to the end. We want the knockouts, for the fans and for the publicity that lives up to the name "One Time". But at the end of the day, we still just want to be a champion and we'll do whatever it takes to stay champion.
Q: Do you worry about this being somewhere near the trap fight, with other potential opportunities that await you down the road?
KT: No, a lot of people they're just impatient in this sport. They want to talk about a little bit now and they want to talk about more later. It takes time for big fights to brew up and so it happened, you know. (Me and my team) can take one bite at a time. We're looking forward to July 11; we train for July 11. We're not training for anything else and I'm happy to be performing in my hometown defending my title in my hometown and putting on a show on ESPN. It's going to be an exciting event.
Q: How are you handling fighting in your hometown and do you feel like you have to do things to make sure that you're not going to be distracted with things that don't have anything to do with boxing?
KT: I just kind of let my team handle all of the things on the outside. I just focus on this fight. For the most part, there is a little extra comfort level knowing that you're fighting in your own backyard. We've been here many times and we've done this many times, just sticking to the formula and staying true. We don't really change nothing just because it's at home. I got a few more friends on Facebook trying to hit me up about tickets and stuff.
But like I said, man, I just roll that over to the rest of my team and just stay true to the formula. I'm looking forward to July 11 just like any other fighter.
Q: How hard is it for you to stay patient to take fights like this one to keep building your brand but understanding what's going on?
KT: See, boxing is nothing but politics too. If there weren't any politics, it would just be street fighting. So it's an industry, it's a business, and it takes time. I've been on the scene for three years now and just earlier this year, I got my first fighter in the top ten and to a degree, it's a struggle, man, but it's a grind and I look forward to the grind. I enjoy the grind. My whole life, all I wanted to do was be a professional boxer and here we are, world champion, man.
I'm a young boy who made dreams come true and I'm just trying to fulfill all of my dreams.
Q: Keith you mentioned earlier in the call that you can find the spotlight overwhelming how do you balance that feeling against your career ambition?
KT: Well, like I said, I'm just young and each fight is a new experience. For the past two fights, I've gone 12 rounds and prior to that, I've never had two fights added together to a 24-round event. I've been on HBO, Showtime, NBC and now ESPN. Each corporation has their own camera crew to have their own little forte on how they like to host the event and it's all those differences. I'm building my name. I'm becoming more popular.
They want to see more of me. They want to hear more of me. They want more feedback. You guys are asking these questions and getting feedback. So it's really just a journey. Every fighter bears weight on their shoulders, but it's not weight that we can't handle. If it was weight that we couldn't handle, we wouldn't be in the position that we're in. So it's just growing and learning and evolving and understanding this world of boxing.
For the most part, it's not too much, but I do recognize a shift in what is happening in my career.
Q: Why are you more outspoken about the direction of your career and the selection of fights for you compared to some of the others in your stable?
KT: I've just been around boxing for a long time. I've been around a lot of old heads in boxing and I've just stayed essential to the sport. I've used my abilities to learn and to evolve to be where I am today. So one thing that I know in life is boxing, so if you want to talk boxing, we can talk boxing, especially if we're talking about the welterweight division, that's my division and I'm active in my division. Back in the day, right before I turned pro, I used to never watch professional boxing.
It was like one of the last things I'd ever want to watch on TV. But now, that is my career. I'm just more involved and more inclined to it. I have more invested into it. I am investing my life into this sport and so I give it my all, inside the ring, outside of the ring, and I have a passion for it.
Q: Keith we now see you are kicking in the door in the inaugural broadcast of another PBC installment first against Robert Guerrero and now you have a fight against Luis Collazo. Should we interpret this as the torch is being passed to you since you are the opener for a big broadcast for this production?
KT: I'm somewhat of a go to guy. I'm reliable; you can trust me. I show up, I make weight. I stay true to the contract. There hasn't been a lot of controversy with me and my career. Our team is dedicated and I just believe that Al sees that and he's taking advantage of my hunger and just trying to grow me as a fighter. It's a great opportunity and it's a blessing.
Q: Keith, do you feel that you have to do more than just win this fight but make a statement in it towards the fans?
KT: At the end of the day, my job is to win. Everything else is icing on the cake. We want to be great. We want this match to be talked about for months to come later on in the year. We stayed focused to the formulas. It's just another camp for me. It's another fight; it's another opportunity for me to showcase my skills and my talents to the world and I don't believe that I've disappointed anybody yet. July 11 shouldn't be any different.
Q: I also read an article about you recently where you talked about especially when you were younger you were influenced a lot by the martial arts and how your father had wrestled. How has that affected your approach to boxing which really is a martial art but how has it affected you?
KT: Well, all of the martial arts early really built up the passion and it really just lit the fire of wanting to develop some form of a fighting style. At 7-years old, I just saw boxing as a form of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. I didn't see boxing. I saw a form of martial arts. I didn't even see a red belt, blue belt, green belt, black belt; I didn't see any of that stuff. But I saw an opportunity for a young man to become a strong man and here we are, 25 and 0 with 21 knockouts.
So I had a great amateur career and boxing has been great to me. I just bought my first house and I got my family a house and it's really; it's really a blessing. I'm truly grateful for what the sport has been able to do for me and my family.
KT: I just want to say thank you for everybody that called in. July 11 is going to be another great fight. We're looking forward to a great performance and looking forward to whatever experience Luis Collazo brings into the ring. It sounds like he's going to be as sharp as he can be. He's going to be looking for the weaknesses that approach him in the fight. So I'm looking forward to it. He has a lot of skills, a lot of knowledge, and it's going to be a great night of boxing. Thanks to everybody and tune in July 11 for PBC on ESPN.
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