{"id":661411,"date":"2026-10-30T06:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T06:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/661411\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T06:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T06:48:14","slug":"keith-thurman-gambles-against-vergil-ortiz-to-turn-around-his-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/661411\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Thurman Gambles Against Vergil Ortiz to Turn Around His Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"52\">The last time former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman stepped between the ropes, he lost his super welterweight title when Sebastian Fundora ended the fight with a sixth-round knockout. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"57\">The fight wasn&#8217;t as close as many believed; it looked easy as it went on. Fundora dominated Thurman, using his exceptionally long reach to score from the outside. Now, the former champ looks to rebuild.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5c\">Based on the resume alone, Thurman&#8217;s spot in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/boxing\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">boxing<\/a> looks secure. However, he is determined to continue striving for improvement rather than simply basking in past achievements and accolades. In contrast, the ability to get back into the ring, face meaningful opponents, and earn large paydays matters. Thurman recently opened up about his future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m653h8zez2pqrmaqtd.jpg\" alt=\"Keith Thurman\" title=\"Keith Thurman\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"5o\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Keith Thurman | USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5u\">At 6&#8217;6&#8243; and with a ridiculous reach. Fundora presents a challenge for a 154-pounder. Regardless of his veteran status, Thurman didn&#8217;t know what to expect.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5z\">&#8220;Nobody&#8217;s really seen a Sebastian Fundora until you&#8217;re in the ring with a man. That height, that reach, the volume. Uh, he&#8217;s a beast and a problem for everybody, man.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Thurman&#8217;s road back<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"69\">At 37, Thurman understands that he is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Instead, he looks forward to his upcoming fight with WBC super welterweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. in December. Thurman, however, does not view the forthcoming bout as his final significant contest. When asked on The Last Stand with Brian Custer podcast, the former champion explained why he chose Ortiz.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">&#8220;I mean, hey, you got to eat what&#8217;s on the plate. You know what I&#8217;m saying? . . . Don&#8217;t play with Keith Thurman. You&#8217;re not going to get a no, you know. I&#8217;m not scared of anybody.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">With a 91.7% KO rate, Ortiz isn&#8217;t going to enter the ring looking to leave the fight in the judge&#8217;s hands, choosing instead to load up on power shots to end fights. Knocking on the door of 40, can Thurman withstand the oncoming barrage and use his savvy to keep Ortiz at bay?<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">To earn another opportunity against Fundora or potentially face Jaron &#8220;Boots&#8221; Ennis in a high-profile bout, Thurman must achieve a decisive victory over Ortiz. At 154 pounds, the division looks crowded at the elite level. Thurman will need a win to remind the division what he can do.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:click=\"q-CvtL2phq.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"70\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last time former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman stepped between the ropes, he lost his super welterweight&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-661411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}