Nearly a week ago, Keith Thurman took to his Instagram account and posted a shot of him hoisting the WBA and WBC titles in the air, reliving the time that he was the unified welterweight champion of the world.
His words accompanying the image read: "I wanna become a complete monster again because that’s what I’m capable of. I’ve dominated the welterweight division before and I believe that I can do it again. #OneTime."
As a guest on PBC's Instagram Live chat with Ray Flores earlier in the week, Thurman expounded about what he meant by that post, reflecting on his split-decision loss to Manny Pacquiao last July.
"I just believe that I have more to give," Thurman said. "It was unfortunate to me that I had all these ailments coming into one of the biggest fights of my career. Outside of what I didn't do to win in the fight, there was a lot in preparation for that fight that was very uncomfortable for me in my training camp. It's just training with injuries. Fighting with an injury means you prepared while injured."
Even before the Pacquiao fight, Thurman started his 2019 trek coming off a 22-month absence from boxing due to injuries. Then, after surviving a scare in the seventh round before defeating a game Josesito Lopez that January, Thurman was outboxed by Pacquiao, as he lost his WBA (Super) welterweight strap to the boxing legend despite being 10 years his junior.
This past September, Thurman took to his Instagram account and revealed to fans that he had surgery on his "left hand to deal with a nagging injury that has bothered me the past few fights."
"I went through so much — 22 months layoff — it took so many negative things to happen to Keith Thurman for Keith Thurman to lose by one point," he reflected further on the bout, while speaking with Flores. "So, do you know what happens if I get back to anything where I'm harmonious again, to where health is aligned?
"The main key for this year and going into next year and for the rest of my career," he continued, "is no more losing 35 pounds for a training camp."
Thurman says he lost 35 pounds apiece while preparing for the Lopez and Pacquiao fights and those drastic cuts also affected his performance each time.
As the 31-year-old Thurman (29-1-1 no contest, 22 KOs) looks ahead, he also pinpointed another way to return his inner "monster and beast" — by regaining his "One Time" power.
"Another thing when it comes to being a monster and a beast is just acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses and one of them for me is my power," Thurman added. "I've boxed so much, I've enjoyed using my IQ and finessing victories and for once — in the last time — I needed that knockout."
That knockout wasn't there against a then-40-year-old Pacquiao, who used veteran savvy placing a lightning-quick left hand to the body and a right across the chin to drop Thurman in the first round of the fight, before eventually winning on the judges' scorecards.
Thurman will need that power to contend with Pacquiao if given a chance to avenge that loss and most definitely against unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. or WBO titleholder Terence Crawford — two undefeated champs that Thurman expressed interest in fighting during that same chat with Flores.