The welterweight division is clearly one of the deepest, most talent-rich in the sport today, and on March 4, two of it’s biggest names will square off in a WBC/WBA title fight unification showdown that promises to light up the sport. Danny Garcia (a big name welter despite not having yet spent too much time as a 147-pounder) will meet Keith Thurman and fans seem to be divided over who comes out on top.
Both men are unbeaten, and a good case can be made for either the WBC boss (Garcia) or the WBA ruler (Thurman) winning. Thurman is the bigger man, the proven welterweight, while Garcia might be the more naturally talented boxer. One man who definitely agrees that “Swift” is the better fighter is GGG trainer (amongst other fighters) Abel Sanchez. Sanchez, as he more than made clear whilst speaking with FightHub, sees only one winner on March 4.
“I don’t really think that much of Thurman,” Sanchez said, perhaps somewhat surprisingly. “Honestly, I’ve never thought that much of Thurman. I think that Danny Garcia is the better fighter, maybe the smaller fighter, but I see Danny winning – in spite of his father (Angel Garcia, who of course disgraced himself at that recent presser to officially announce the big unification battle). [Luis] Collazo, a couple of other fights, Diego Chaves, that I saw Thurman, I wasn’t impressed by him. This ‘One Time’ Thurman thing is a myth. So I see Danny winning.”
Harsh words, or does Sanchez’ keen eye see things us mere mortals cannot? Maybe Thurman is not the huge puncher he wants to be, therefore making his nickname an inaccurate one as Sanchez claims, but he has beaten some top quality men in great style – Shawn Porter, Collazo (who did hurt him bad with a body shot before being stopped), Jesus Soto Karass, common opponent Robert Guerrero and others being amongst Thurman’s victims.
But Garcia, a tough and skilled fighter, certainly represents Thurman’s toughest opponent (and vice versa). Plenty of experts are picking Thurman to win, but Garcia has plenty of his own supporters. This one, the more you look at it, really is a pick ’em affair.