Keith Thurman has earned the right to pick his spots.
The former unified welterweight world champion returns to the ring this Saturday against Mario Barrios. The bout takes place live from Las Vegas on pay-per-view.
It will mark the first fight for Thurman since a 2019 loss to Manny Pacquiao that cost him the WBA super welterweight title.
“Coming off the Pacquiao fight, it just didn’t excite me to come back without fans,” Thurman said. “I love my fans. I love the sport of boxing. I could have done it for the activity, and perhaps, in retrospect, it would have been good to be in the ring.
“But while the activity would have been good, the excitement wasn’t appealing. I was financially stable, didn’t need the money, and desired to make meaningful performances and meaningful fights in the welterweight division.
“2022 has presented more opportunities to me and my career; at 33, I’m young, willing, and able, and it’s time to get back.”
Overall, Thurman is 29-1 with a no-contest in his career. That includes 22 knockouts, eight title defenses and a 17-year unbeaten run.
“Mario Barrios had the best record out of the small handful of fighters presented to me. He had an exciting performance against ‘Tank’ Davis, and it just seemed like it’d be a great challenge for both of us,” Thurman said. “We’re two fighters who are exciting in the world of boxing, talented and coming off their first career losses. It might not sound exciting at first, but if you understand what it is to have a competitive mindset, you know both of us will demand greatness out of ourselves.”
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