Keith Thurman is aiming to fight two-belt champion Errol Spence Jr this year.
Spence Jr has a 27-0 record which has earned him the IBF and WBC welterweight titles, and the 32-year-old former champion has his sights on facing down the current holder.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, Thurman said: “I love the Spence fight. I want those belts.
“Right now, he’s got two of them and one of them is mine anyway. He’s just holding onto it for me but it’s time to get back what belongs to me.”
Thurman previously held the WBC belt only to be stripped of the title after a period of inactivity.
In 2019 a loss to Manny Pacquiao somewhat derailed Thurman’s plans to face Spence, and the coronavirus pandemic then made a fight yet harder to arrange.
For his part, Spence seems keen on his own fight with Pacquiao, or a unification bout against WBA champion Yordenis Ugas.
Thurman, though, will not be knocked back in his pursuit
“We’ll see in time if it happens,” said Thurman. “One thing about me if you watch my history, I just love putting together big events in the welterweight division.
"It’s what I do. I love elite competition. I’m in it to win it. At the end of the day, I want the Spence fight. I assumed after the Pacquiao fight I was gonna have to fight Spence anyways.
“Now I don’t have the world title, so I don’t know if that makes people uninterested in Keith Thurman. It’s already hard enough to handle Thurman. Now it’s like, what’s the reward?
"'I beat Thurman, what do I get. It’s not the first time. Pacquiao did it already'. It just is what it is. I’m just trying to be ready for this year. Even if they call me up on short notice, I just want to be ready for these guys.”