Keith "One-Time" Thurman remained undefeated Saturday after dispatching veteran Luis Collazo in the first Premier Boxing Champions card on ESPN, and called out Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his post-fight interview. Thurman is not likely to land a September date with Mayweather though, so Thurman is also setting his sights on three major names in the welterweight division.
"I want Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter," Thurman said. "This is boxing I want to fight the same guys you want me to fight. Right now we would like Amir Khan. He has finally started mentioning Keith Thurman's name. When I hear those syllables come out of a fighter's mouth, that's what I like."
As Thurman has beat the drum for a shot at Mayweather, the pound-for-pound king dismissed him and suggested Thurman fight Errol Spence Jr., and up-and-coming fighter in Mayweather's stable. Spence is a promising fighter, but he has not accomplished nearly as much as Thurman has at this point in their respective careers.
"That boy Errol Spence don't want it in the near future, his uncle Floyd adopted him and told him to make that statement," Thurman said. "If he really wanted to state that statement, he wouldn't have stuttered when he said it. He's a young, talented fighter. I sound like Floyd right now saying that.
"He hasn't fought a B class fighter. He keeps fighting these one week replacements. Go ahead and fight Diego Chaves, go fight Luis Collazo, or any ex world champion that I fought before you say my name out of your mouth."
Khan was pegged as the frontrunner for Mayweather's next-and possibly final-fight in September, although he hasn't been mentioned by anyone from Mayweather's camp recently. Mayweather has been mostly silent, aside from naming Andre Berto and Karim Mayfield several times as the choices he's picking from.
If he does not pick Khan or Thurman, those two fighters would make for a highly anticipated fight. Both are under Al Haymon's PBC banner, so the fight is makeable as long as Haymon is willing to risk hurting the stock of one of his top fighters.
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