He is essentially trying to sell Spence a product that Spence decided a long time ago he didn’t want to buy.
“I don’t know if he can see punches coming. People are stuck in the past. Drop that stuff, EJ. Forget about that stuff, EJ,” said Thurman to Fight Hub TV, talking about Spence holding a grudge against him, not wanting to fight him because Keith wouldn’t face him when he was on top.
Back in 2016, when Thurman was “One Time” and ruled the division, he famously told Spence to “stay in line” and wait his turn. Now that the roles have reversed, and Spence has moved on after the Crawford loss, Thurman is suddenly the one preaching about letting go of the past. It is hard to take the “Drop that stuff, EJ” line seriously when it sounds less like a peace offering and more like an attempt to get a final big check.
Spence has said repeatedly that he’s no longer interested in fighting Thurman because Thurman wouldn’t fight him when he was at the top of his game, 2015-2017. That was when Keith held the WBA and WBC welterweight titles, and Spence was trying to get a fight against him.
Thurman is fighting WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora this Saturday night on Amazon Prime PPV, and he’s not expected to win.
There are a few reasons why this feels so desperate right now: First, looking past the 6’6″ Fundora is dangerous. If Thurman gets clipped or outworked this Saturday, any talk of a Spence fight evaporates instantly. He is campaigning for a fight he might not even be eligible for by Sunday morning.
For Spence, freezing out Thurman isn’t just about a grudge; it is about brand management. He spent years being ignored by the top dog. Now that he holds the leverage, giving Thurman the opportunity he was once denied feels like a betrayal of his own journey to the top.
Thurman mentioned that the biggest fight of Spence’s career was “supposed” to be him. That might have been true in 2017, but after the Crawford masterclass, the boxing world has shifted. Thurman is trying to revive a rivalry that the public has largely moved on from.
“How do you want to represent yourself now, EJ? What are you going to do to Keith Thurman now? The biggest fight of your career was supposed to be Keith Thurman, which ended up Terence Crawford,” said Thurman.
Thurman is still a great talker, but the “salesman” talk is obvious because he’s trying to convince Spence to do something that benefits Keith far more than it benefits Errol. If he loses to Fundora, this whole press run is going to age poorly.
