Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman is in the works for October in a Golden Boy Promotions – Premier Boxing Champions co-promoted event. Also on the card is a clash between light welterweights Arnold Barboza Jr. and Frank Martin.
Julius Julianis broke the news of the Ortiz Jr.-Thurman and Barboza Jr-Martin card for October.
Thurman’s Comeback Challenge
The fight that fans will be eager to see is former WBA and WBC welterweight champion Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) challenging Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) for his WBC interim junior middleweight title. This isn’t the fight that Thurman, 36, would have preferred. He’s been chasing big game, calling out Terence Crawford and Errol Spence.
Thurman hasn’t stayed active enough to get the fights that he wants against those big names. So, he has to settle for fighting Vergil Ortiz Jr, which is a nightmarish match-up for him on paper. This would be a brutally difficult fight for even the prime 2016 version of Thurman, but now with him turning 37 in November, it’s a near-impossible ask.
One Time’s Injury Concerns
The real test is for old ‘One Time’ Thurman to make it through training camp without suffering an injury, causing the fight to be canceled. We saw that last year when Keith suffered a bicep injury and had to pull out of his fight against Tim Tszyu.
With just two fights in six years, it’s asking the impossible for Thurman’s brittle body to make it through a grueling training camp without suffering some kind of fight-postponing or canceling injury. If you’re Golden Boy, it would be a good idea to have a good backup fighter that can step in when the injury bug bites Thurman and he pulls out.
“Attention! I hear Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Keith Thurman and Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Frank Martin are being scheduled for October. It will be a GBP vs. PBC event,” said JuliusJulianis on X.
Last Updated on 08/03/2025
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