Keith Thurman says he wants to fight Terence Crawford and Errol Spence in 2026. ‘One Time’ Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) states that he fights later this year, he’ll be ready to make the “great fights” in 2026. He’ll be “waiting for the contracts.”
Thurman’s “Wacky Ideas” for Future
Thurman sounds like he’s clinically insane with his wacky ideas, like his mind is still trapped in 2016, and he’s in the present year 2025. He can’t see the mess he’s made of his career with inactivity, sitting on the coach, not fighting and flapping his gums.
Spence, 35, hasn’t fought in two years since his loss to Crawford in 2023, and he likely would have zero interest in fighting Thurman if he does come out of retirement. That’s a no-go. Keith wanted nothing to do with fighting Errol when he was on the top of his game back in 2016 and 2017. Spence wanted to fight Thurman then, but there was no interest from ‘One Time.’
Thurman vs. Crawford: A Forgotten Era
Thurman, 36, has been too inactive over the last six years for him to be considered as a viable option for Bud. There’s no interest from fans in that fight because Thurman is viewed as an older fighter from the past generation. Although he’s technically one year younger than the 37-year-old Crawford, his inactivity and chronic injuries make him viewed as a fossil from a bygone era.
“The Spence fight, the Bud Crawford fight, these are fights of my generation that I just think a lot of fight fans would understand why we’re making these fights happen. They’re good fights,” said Keith Thurman to MillCity Boxing about his desire to fight Errol Spence and Terence Crawford.
Crawford is fighting Canelo Alvarez in September, and he’s going to be getting huge money for that Riyadh Season-promoted fight. If Terence doesn’t retire after the fight or get a rematch, he’d be looking for the biggest, most relevant name. That would likely be at 154 against WBC champion Sebastian Fundora.
“They already know my style is tougher for Bud than the Spence style. I would like to run it one time in the game,” said Thurman about him never getting the chance to fight Crawford. “We never saw each other in the ring in the amateurs. At least we could see each other in the ring in the pros.”
Thurman looked old and slow in his last fight against Brock Jarvis last March. Keith was coming off a three-year layoff, and the only thing that he had was his power. That was still there, but his hand and foot speed were gone. He moved around the ring like he had rust in his joints.
Thurman: “Waiting for the Contracts”
“You [Crawford] became undisputed [at 147]. I think we could make those fights [Bud and Spence] happen. That would be fun. I’m going to hold my position and wait for the contracts. Hopefully, really soon, we’re going to have something exciting that we can be releasing to you guys.
“By the end of this year, we’ll be back to only making big and great fights happen,” said Thurman.
It’s unlikely that ‘One Time’ Thurman will be involved in any “big” fights by the end of 2025 or in 2026. He sounds deluded. Keith has only fought twice in the last six years, since 2019. His brittle, aged body had problems staying healthy to make it through training camps.
Last Updated on 08/02/2025
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