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Vinny’s View’s: A Final Look at Keith Thurman Vs Joseito Lopez

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By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci

Watch an unexpectedly entertaining mismatch go from zero to life and death at the midway point of a bout and both fans and media will exert as much euphoric damnation as they do praise. Without the preamble of popping a kettle of corn it’s time to cut through the eclectic assumptions that now surround WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman.

Sure Boxrec will report history as Thurman having raised his unblemished record to 29-0, 22 KO’s on January 26, 2019 against Joseito Lopez by MD at Barclay’s Center Brooklyn New York but there was much more surrounding the bout which failed to make print.
After a 22 month layoff due to hand and elbow injury it was no random guessing game that Lopez who is known as the “Riverside Rocky” was the chosen opponent due to his club fighter status rather than a top flight contender. It was more than expected that ring rust would show along the margins of bout with possible signs of stamina and timing issues.

In the wake of the aftermath all the positive fall out flows in the loser’s direction as his gutsy performance raised his bar considerably with much of the praise allotted to new trainer Robert Garcia. Joseito can claim bragging rights to going the distance with the champion even while adding another loss to his less than stellar resume to 36-8, 19 KO’s.

The Vinny Factor:

Let me grab the scissors and cut to the chase of what both boxers need to work on as denial is a fighter’s worst enemy.

While Thurman can brag he dropped the challenger with a counter left hook in the second round he failed to keep his man down and allowed him to hear the score cards read. In reality Keith hasn’t been “One Time” since he upped his level of competition upon taking the throne as Robert Guerrero, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia all heard the score cards read also.

As for the fight both combatants demonstrated glaring chinks in their armor inside the most heated moments of the contest. This in no way is a condemnation of talent, but rather a wakeup call to both corners. First and foremost, Keith never once showed any inclination to tie his man up when hurt. No God given inclination at self -preservation to hold, grab or pivot out of danger. There was the additional amateurish mistake of walking straight back in a line when hurt exhibiting the prohibitive no-no for a “boxer.”

Thurman is used to gliding within circular patterns around the perimeter of ropes on spindly legs never engaging the pocket. While his stamina may impress his hardcore fans fact is his style has become more of a game of tag than standing his ground. The champion seldom plants his feet allowing himself the chance to reinvent the “one time” power he was known for.

At the mid-point of seventh round these flaws were exposed under the ring lights and highlighted under an unanswered 55 punch barrage where the champion was pummeled from ring post to ring post before finally answering back with a few meager gestures as the challenger grew arm weary. Many referees would have read the situation like an expired parking meter and issued a TKO stoppage amid the carnage. To his credit, Thurman survived but to be brutally honest he has much to learn if he even hopes to compete with rival champions Errol Spence, JR. Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao who would all be favored to win against him.

His calling for a unification match against forty year old Pacquiao who is entering his 24th year as a pro was a humorous commentary on how well he actually thought he fought last week. Manny is coming off a clear cut UD over Adrien Broner on January 19th.

As for the challenger Joseito has proved he has the true grit to fight among the top challengers looking to realign himself into another title shot. Such invaluable competition would serve notice on the three glaring issues that his corner needs to resolve for him to build upon recent success.

First he needs to learn to learn to stop head hunting so much and set up his arsenal with a prolific body attack to ensure keeping his adversary stationary. From there he is getting too much over extension on those head shots by reaching from outside the pocket. Once a power punch is extended over a lead knee it has already traveled past its peak of power leaving less body weight behind it reducing punch to more of a whip tail effect. Finally his “Rocky” style of lumbering forward in a straight line exposes his inability to cut off ring or trap opponent in a corner. Following in Thurman’s footsteps all night allowed the champion to set both the pace and tone of bout.

Final thoughts on event left the public underwhelmed as Barclay’s appeared to have many sections of Center with empty seats with a forgettable undercard promoted by DiBella Entertainment and TGB Promotions.

Referee Dan Ackerman’s scorecard of 113-113 should be investigated as horrific scoring is becoming the norm without accountability.

Stay tuned…


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