Keith Thurman Expects Less Volume From Vergil Ortiz, Sees an Opening
Thurman believes Ortiz will throw fewer punches than Fundora did, giving him room to work.
Keith Thurman thinks Vergil Ortiz Jr. will give him something Sebastian Fundora never did: breathing room.
Speaking to MillCity Boxing, the 37-year-old Thurman broke down what he expects from Ortiz. "Virgil might be holding back his volume, but his power is going to be more intense," Thurman said. "So, once again, it is dangerous."
But Thurman sees the tradeoff as favorable. "I think he is going to be easier to match the volume, the two-punch combos, the three-punch combos," he said. The implication is clear: Thurman believes he can fight at Ortiz's pace in a way he could not fight at Fundora's.
That Fundora fight was ugly. The towering WBC junior middleweight champion overwhelmed Thurman with constant pressure. Per Boxing News 24, Thurman showed no snap in his legs from the third round on and spent most of rounds three through six backing up and surviving rather than competing. Fundora stopped him.
Thurman compared the Ortiz matchup to his past fights with Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia. Porter brought relentless pressure similar to Fundora. Garcia gave Thurman pauses to reset his feet and work behind his jab. Thurman sees Ortiz landing closer to the Garcia mold: dangerous but manageable in bursts.
Ortiz is one of the hardest punchers in the welterweight division and has stopped 18 of his opponents. Whether Thurman's legs hold up long enough to exploit the volume gap is the real question.
Thurman is doing what veteran fighters do before a fight they are probably going to lose: he is finding the one thing that makes the matchup look survivable and building his whole case around it. Less volume from Ortiz sounds nice in theory. In practice, it takes one clean shot from Vergil to end the conversation.
The Fundora fight told us everything we need to know about where Thurman is right now. His legs are gone. The reflexes that made him special at 147 are slower. And he is coming off a stoppage loss. Comparing Ortiz to Danny Garcia is generous. Garcia was a counter-puncher who let Thurman dictate the pace. Ortiz walks you down and hits you with bad intentions.
I respect Thurman for still wanting the big fights. But expecting less volume is not a game plan. It is wishful thinking from a guy who knows the clock is ticking.
