With Keith Thurman set for a world title fight against the towering Sebastian Fundora next month on Oct. 25, he speaks to Fight Hype about the matchup and what he’ll be bringing to the table that he’s confident Fundora has never dealt with in an opponent.

“At 36 years old, what am I going to do taking the easy route,” Thurman said of taking Fundora fight. “I was hoping to get the Tszyu fight this summer, that was the whole reason why we went to Australia besides that it was the first fight offer that I got that paid dollars after my injury, my bicep tear in 2024.

“With Tszyu out of the picture, Thurman’s a big thinker when it comes to the world of boxing and I’m ready to do great things, always anticipating the next move. See boxing is like chess, you have to watch the pieces move on the board and you got to analyze them before you attack, and I was presented with a world title shot, how could I say no?

“Of course Fundora wants to upgrade his resume with somebody of my caliber, of my stats, even though I’m moving up from the welterweight division. His resume is not quite — he doesn’t have the plethora of elite names on his resume so I’m pretty sure his team said ‘let’s get Thurman now, let’s do it. He’s 36 years old…’ I’m here to throw a wrecking ball into their vision, and that’s what October 25th is all about for me.

“You don’t know Keith Thurman. I’ve been in the ring with world champions since I was 16 years old. I’m talking about Jeff Lacy, Winky Wright, Antwun Echols, Chad Dawson, Andre Berto, okay? I’ve been living this life…

“It’s not just my one punch, Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman power, but it’s the knowledge of the sport that I know Fundora has not seen. Tim Tszyu does not exude boxing IQ. He’s a tough guy, he’s a rough guy, and you made him stop, you made him quit…I understand you’re feeling yourself right now, Fundora. But like I’ve told the people, oh he’s been stopped before, he’s been rocked before, he’s been dropped before, and when I get my hands on him he’s going to remember what it felt like to be in a bad place, to be in a bad situation.”