“Oh please, Keith Thurman will drop Floyd Mayweather, JR., in two rounds.”–Buddy Ruffin, JR., (President of Men with Uni-brows for Keith Thurman, Coffeyville, KS  – 979,314 members and growing daily)

Undefeated WBA “regular” welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) defends his belt against former world champion Luis Collazo on July 11 in the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN event at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida. “I’m looking forward to July 11 in Tampa Bay, Florida defending my world title in my hometown,” said Thurman earlier this week. “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.

With his exciting style and engaging personality, and fighting in one of boxing’s most popular divisions, Thurman seems to have all the ingredients to being a major star in boxing. “Right now I believe I’m one of the most talked about welterweights currently in the division,” says Thurman. “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 (Haymon) 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.”

After going the distance in his last two fights, Thurman doesn’t believe his reputation as a “knockout artist” has diminished. “At the end of the day I still hold one of the highest knockout ratios in the welterweight division,” stated Thurman. “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 knockdown 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.”