This Saturday night, #3 WBC, #4 WBA welterweight contender Leonard Bundu (31-0-1, 11 KOs) will be looking to use his ring intelligence to hand WBA interim 147 pound champion Keith Thurman (23-0, 21 KOs) his first loss of his career when they get inside the ring to face each other on Showtime from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Thurman-Bundu fight will be on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs. Devon Alexander fight.
Bundu, 40, fights a lot younger than his chronological age. He’s more like a guy in his late 20s rather than his early 40s. Bundu isn’t a big puncher though, and that’s going to make it tough on him against the hard hitting Thurman. Bundu doesn’t want to get in a war with Thurman, and that’s why he’ll be coming into the fight looking to outsmart him for 12 rounds.
Few boxing fans are giving Bundu any chance of winning this fight against the hard hitting Thurman. Bundu realizes he’s been picked out as a guy that Thurman should be able to beat, but he plans on creating up a huge upset by exposing Thurman in this fight. A win over Thurman would be a huge victory for Bundu, and it would open up bigger fights in the future for him.
“I am the underdog. Everybody is looking at me as the lamb to be slaughtered,” said Bundu via RingTV.com.“But I’m here to win, and I’m coming for respect. People don’t give me the respect that I deserve, so I’m coming to prove to people that I’m a tough welterweight, and I will give it all that I have. I know that I’m going against a very tough fighter and a very good fighter but I feel just as fit and maybe even fitter than I was 10 years ago.”
Thurman has showed signs of weakness in fights against Diego Chaves and Jesus Soto Karass. Both guys were able to nail Thurman with big shots, and they made him look very human in the process. To Thurman’s credit he was able to use his boxing skills to avoid getting hit with additional shots in order to get the victories.
It’s going to be tough for the 5’6 ½’ Bundu to be able to do what Chaves and Karass were able to do against Thurman because he doesn’t have their size, and he’ll be giving up around an inch in height and considerably more than that in the power department. For Bundu to defeat Thurman, he’s going to have to rely on his speed, defensive skills and inside fighting in order to get a win. Even with that, it’s going to be tough for Bundu.