Two returning veterans, two important fights, two very different outcomes.
Let’s begin with Keith Thurman, the former unified welterweight champion who returned on February 5th. In his first fight since July 2019, Thurman looked solid, defeating Mario Barrios, an ex-secondary titleholder at 140-pounds, by wide decision. The crushing power that Thurman flashed early in his career wasn’t there—Thurman, in fact, has not scored a knockout since 2015—but Thurman looked sharp, wobbling Barrios early before cruising to the end. The win catapults Thurman back in the 147-pound title mix. Can he secure the winner of the welterweight unification fight between Errol Spence and Yordenis Ugás? Perhaps. A better option could be Terence Crawford, a promotional free agent who is looking for a pay per view quality opponent.
Move ahead to last Saturday, when Daniel Jacobs ended a 15-month layoff by traveling to the U.K. to take on John Ryder. Jacobs, 35, looked good early, using his size advantage to keep Ryder from getting on the inside. Ryder, though, surged in the second half of the fight, taking advantage of Jacobs’ inactivity—and bizarre decision to switch to southpaw—to climb back in it. The result: A narrow, somewhat controversial, decision win for Ryder, a veteran super middleweight who knows a thing or two about being on the wrong end of close decisions.
