Keith Thurman reacts (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
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Keith “One-Time” Thurman enjoyed a successful and emphatic return to the boxing ring in Sydney, Australia. Thurman improved his record to 31-1 with 23 KOs as he scored a third-round KO win over Brock Jarvis.
Here is a look at the finish:
Fighting at 154 pounds for the first time in nearly 13 years—when he scored a fourth-round TKO win over Carlos Quintana—Thurman looked physically strong and much more like a man hunting the knockout.
In the first round, Thurman landed a hard combination that appeared to stun Jarvis. However, Jarvis came back with his own flurry that seemed to get the 36-year-old veteran’s attention and respect.
In the second frame, Thurman returned to more of the boxer-puncher style that led him to being a unified welterweight champion. At that point, he looked more comfortable and like a man far more experienced, skilled, and physically talented than his opponent.
The end came when Thurman closed the distance in the third and dropped Jarvis with a vicious combination that culminated in a thunderous left uppercut. Jarvis made it to his feet, but quite honestly, referee Will Soulos probably should have called it at that point.
Instead, Thurman surged in after the knockdown and finished Jarvis with another smashing combination that ended with a left hook.
After the KO, Thurman immediately hopped on the ropes and yelled, “We back.” You can watch the entire replay of the fight below.
After the win, Thurman called out Tim Tszyu, which seems like a logical callout, all things considered. Tszyu is coming off a crushing third-round TKO loss against Bakhram Murtazaliev in October 2024. He has a fight against Joseph Spencer on April 6 but was ringside, working the fight with Shawn Porter.
Thurman was asked about a fight with Tszyu, and the former immediately launched into a promo, creating some legit entertaining energy between the two men. It feels like a good fight for Premier Boxing Champions to move toward later in the year—provided Tszyu can get past Spencer.
If Thurman doesn’t jump right into a fight with Tszyu, whom he was scheduled to fight in March 2024 before he was injured, he may take another tune-up. Tszyu wound up fighting Sebastian Fundora instead of Thurman and lost his WBO title and a chance to win the vacant WBA belt in a bloody war. It was the first loss in the Aussie’s current two-fight losing streak.
As for Jarvis, he was clearly out of his league. Jarvis has had two fights against upper-echelon competition in his 24-fight career. He was knocked out in the first round by Liam Paro at 140 pounds in October 2022. Now, he’s been knocked out by Thurman in three rounds at 154 pounds.
At 27 years old, Jarvis may need to face the tough reality that he does not have the time or talent to develop beyond the point he’s at currently. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but it may be necessary if he wants to avoid taking more damage and finishes like the one Thurman dealt him on Wednesday morning in Sydney.
PBC’s YouTube channel posted the entire event three hours after it ended, as it was not available live in the United States. The fight was a pay-per-view event in Australia.
