Keith Thurman returns after a long layoff to defense his WBA (super) welterweight title against Josesito Lopez on Saturday Night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
WBA 147 pound champion Keith Thurman fights for the first time since March 2017 when he took a split decision win over Danny “Swift” Garcia. Since then, Thurman has battled an elbow injury and a left hand injury which has sidelined him for the longest time in his professional boxing career. Known as One-Time, Thurman is 28-0 with 22 knockouts. He is 5-7 tall and has a reach of 69 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance.
Thurman is known for his devastating punching power but four out of his last five bouts have ended in a decision because in recent years, Thurman has become a more complete boxer who can go the full route and beat his opponent using his skills. Thurman has fast hands, great footwork and the ability to break down his opponent with his technical skills.
As per bookmaker betonline.ag, Josesito Lopez is a big underdog at +1600 while Thurman is the heavy favorite at -5000. The Californian Lopez is coming off an April 2018 win over Miguel Cruz and has put up a nice three fight winning streak since his last defeat against Andre Berto. Lopez has lost all the big fights in his career including two world title fights. Still, he isn’t an easy comeback opponent for Thurman because he has shared the ring with the likes of Berto, Victor Ortiz, Marcos Maidana and Canelo Alvarez
Lopez is an orthodox fighter who stands 5-9 and has a reach of 69 inches. Lopez enters this bout with a record of 36-7 with 19 stoppages. He does not have the natural punching power of a welterweight but he is a very good counter puncher who can put together excellent combinations when he is boxing in his range. The worry with Lopez is that he’s been knocked out thrice in his seven losses so with Thurman carrying power, Lopez may be in danger here.
Although he isn’t really a natural welterweight, Josesito Lopez has been in the ring with some of the big boys of the sport like Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz, Marcos Maidana and Canelo Alvarez. While he lost all the bouts mentioned, Lopez isn’t going to be too shocked once he feels Thurman’s punching power. Lopez is also an excellent counter-puncher while Thurman has been notoriously susceptible to being countered so Lopez has a chance to make this fight interesting.
But when you talk about skillset, this one is a no-contest because Thurman is eons ahead in both offense and defense and there’s nothing that Lopez can do about it. Another concern for Lopez is that he does not have punching power so while he can score points, he can’t stop Thurman from moving forward. The main concern with Thurman is ring rust so he might opt to get some rounds here before finishing his opponent. Or he might want to get the fans re-acquainted with him and Thurman might put on a show by going for the kill early. Either way, I see this one ending in a stoppage in favor of Keith Thurman. My pick is Keith Thurman by stoppage in the middle rounds. But because Thurman is heavily priced, I’d like to bet on the total rounds here. I don’t think Lopez can hang long enough here, so I’ll go with under 9.5 rounds at -145. Prediction: Under 9.5 rounds
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