BoxNation: Keith Thurman, Lucas Matthysse and Omar Figueroa line up on April 26 bill

LONDON (April 15) – BoxNation are delighted to announce another mega bill to its fantastic schedule with the addition of the stacked April 26th Golden Boy Promotions show featuring boxing’s biggest punchers in Keith Thurman, Lucas Matthysse and Omar Figueroa.

The card taking place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California is guaranteed to have fight fans on the edge of their seats with the three hitmen amassing a stunning 69 knockouts from 78 wins between them.

Headlined by rising welterweight star Thurman, who defends his interim WBA championship against the hardened Julio Diaz, who ran British ace Amir Khan very close last year, it offers the 25-year-old the chance to continue his march towards a shot at the world title. “

Keith Thurman, Lucas Matthysse and Omar Figueroa to headline Showtime tripleheader at Stubhub center on April 26

LOS ANGELES (March 26, 2014) – StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., has rapidly become known amongst boxing aficionados as the place to be to see world-class fights and fighters. On Saturday, April 26, that reputation continues to grow as Golden Boy Promotions and SHOWTIME Sports® team up for an all-action tripleheader featuring some of the top fighters in the sport today. In the 12-round main event, Florida power-puncher Keith “One Time” Thurman defends his interim WBA World Welterweight Championship against former World Lightweight titleholder Julio “The Kidd” Diaz.

Keith Thurman faces Julio Diaz on 4/26 in Carson, California

Julio Diaz (40-9-1, 29 KO’s) will be facing interim WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (22-0, 20 KO’s) next on 4/26 at the StubHub center in Carson, California in a fight that will be broadcast by Showtime. It looks like Al Haymon and Golden Boy Promotions don’t want to take any chances that Thurman, 25, doesn’t get beaten before he gets his title shot against the WBA welterweight champion.

Thurman gets an easy fight against Diaz, who is coming off of back to back losses to Amir Khan and Shawn Porter. That’s rare to have a fighter with two straight losses fighting against a champion, even an interim title holder like Thurman. I wonder how many more times Diaz will get used in this fashion, because at some point it’s going to look really bad having him brought out to face Golden Boy’s fighters with so many consecutive losses.

Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs)

Why Tune In?

He’s undefeated. He’s fought big names such as Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ruslan Provodnikov, Joel Cassamayor, Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson, Nate Campbell, Kendall Holt, and Junior Witter. Guess what? He hasn’t given that “0” up in the loss column yet. There’s something about this kid that just won’t take no for an answer. Desert Storm is an appropriate nickname for Bradley, not just because of fights like his war with Provodnikov- but his sheer will to go out and protect his “0”, by not going out to protect his “0”. You follow me? None of the names mentioned above are a walk in the park. For a guy with little power, he doesn’t fight like it. Witness how he dogged Devon Alexander and basically took his heart and made him quit. Timmy has earned his way to Top 3 status Pound 4 Pound in my book.

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Broner/Maidana, Thurman, Ariza Caught on Camera, & Goldenboy Promotions Incredible Year!!!

broner7851 Shawn O. (Brooklyn, NYC): What a fight between Broner and Maidana! I was pulling for Maidana, but I didn’t think he’d get it done! Do you think it was a case of Broner being “exposed” or was Maidana just the better man last Saturday night?

Vivek W. (ESB): In my weekly pre-fight Facebook post, I listed a quote that said “To he who much is given, much is expected. And in the sport of Boxing, those who declare themselves great must first be tested”! In the end, Adrien Broner was….in more ways than one! Some viewed this fight as a “Fight of the Year” candidate. I think that overwhelming response answers the question relative to whether or not he was “exposed”. You can’t have that type of battle and be considered a “bust”. I don’t think Broner was “exposed”, in terms of being cleared as a bad fighter. “Exposed” in the sense that he isn’t as polished as his smack talk made it seem? Yeah….I’d co-sign that angle. Clearly we saw that there are a few things which prevent him from being that elite, world class fighter any time soon that we were beginning to think he was.

WBA Interim Welterweight title holder Keith Thurman stops Jesus Soto Karass in nine

thurman67 (Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) In a very entertaining scrap, WBA interim Welterweight title holder Keith “One Time” Thurman slugged it out with hard-nosed fight veteran Jesus Soto Karass en route to stopping his fearless challenger in the ninth round of the scheduled twelve round championship contest.

Despite getting the hard earned victory, the heavily favored title holder was rocked and almost floored with a hard right hook from mid-range that caught Thurman flush on the jaw in the opening moments of the fight.

Although the defending champ regained his composure midway through the first stanza, Keith was forced to use lateral movement and show the underrated Mexican volume puncher some angles at a much earlier point in the fight than most had ever anticipated.

“Danger Zone” weigh-in: Adrien Broner – 144.4, Marcos Maidana – 146.2

broner Maidana confront 1 This afternoon from the Farmers Market in downtown San Antonio, Texas, WBA Welterweight Champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner and former IBF Junior Welterweight Champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana participated in the official preliminary weigh-in event and posed for the capacity filled venue of media members and fight fans.

On the eve of the highly anticipated main event of the evening, the defending champ seemed jovial and relaxed as he stepped onto the commission scale. Sporting a pair of shades, the reigning title holder began shadow boxing after he weighed in at a healthy 144.4 pounds.

When Maidana stepped onto the scale, “The Problem” began talking to the Spanish speaking Argentine fighter. Seemingly unphased by the inaudible banter, “El Chino” Maidana weighed in at approximately 146.2 pounds. Both men appeared to be full of energy and didn’t show any signs of dehydration.

Keith “One Time” Thurman: “I’m more than just a puncher”

_MG_0970 Photo and video courtesy of Carlos Sacriste

Every fighter at the world class level gets tested, in which they’re forced to prove their mental and physical durability. It’s what truly separates the good from the elite.

Interim WBA Welterweight title holder Keith “One Time” Thurman was given that proverbial “trial by fire” in his last outing against hard punching Argentine Diego Chaves, and passed the toughest test of his professional career with flying colors.

On December 14th, in San Antonio, Texas, the 24 year old fighter insists that the boxing world will see even more from “One Time” when he steps in the ring with rugged fight veteran Jesus Soto Karass.

Keith “One Time” Thurman: Tale of the “Light-Skinned” Dark Horse

thurman4 Only a few weeks ago, welterweight Keith Thurman stepped into the ring against a contender who few had heard of, and even fewer had actually seen. Those hardcore fight fans in the game knew that it could be an interesting night, as the scouting report on underdog Diego Gabriel Chaves was that he’s under the radar, but above the rim. Although Chaves entered the night as the relative unknown commodity, to some, Thurman wasn’t exactly popular, himself. Sitting in front of a flat screen TV in a house filled with fight fans ready for some action, I can recall hearing one young lady ask “who’s the light-skinned guy with the long hair”?

A few rounds, several power shots, and a bloody nose later, she made a conscious effort to remember his name, as Thurman gutted his way to an effort she would make a conscious effort to remember. Stepping in the shoes of that young lady for a moment, we ponder the question out loud: “WHO IS KEITH THURMAN”? In the world of Boxing you have pretenders and contenders. In many ways he has shown enough ability to escape the “pretender” tag. But has he truly established himself as a “contender” in one of the sports deeper divisions? What makes the Thurman project such an interesting one is that he appears to have all the tools to do so. 19KO’s in 21 fights is an indelible print left in the minds of both fans and future opponents. Trouble is, practically all of those KO’s came against unproven talents.

Left-Hook Lounge: Duran/Mayweather, Andre Berto & Keith Thurman!!!

001 Berto vs Soto Karass IMG_1079 Kevin O. (Aventura, FL): Is it safe to say that Andre Berto is now done as a fighter? He has changed trainers and I don’t know of a way that any one out there can rebuild him at this stage to make him a top contender. What are your thoughts?

Vivek W. (ESB): I’ve been asked this question by almost every fight fan that I know and to be very truthful, it’s a very easy question to answer. For starters, when people ask me should he retire? I can address that one very easily in saying “NO”. There are several fighters around the sport who one can argue should, but the reason that I argue he should not is because he has a ton of heart, which means win, lose, or draw, he will make for competitive fights. Fight fans want to see competitive fights. You may enter that competitive fight knowing what the outcome is when he’s facing a perennial contender, but you know that he has just enough ability to land his shots and make it interesting before he ultimately gets bust up in the face and takes an “L”.