Thurman returns from 3-year layoff, blows away Jarvis with 3rd-round KO
Sets stage for summer fight with Tszyu as long as he wins interim bout
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Former unified welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman, once the king of his division, questioned what he had left during the buildup to his ring return at age 36 and after three-plus years out of action, largely due to injuries and surgeries.
“I was unified champion but is that all there is? Is there more? I’m here to find out,” Thurman said in the days before his return. “I want to do more in the sport; I want to add more to that beautiful story. I don’t feel like I’m done.”
Based on his performance, Thurman ain’t done yet.
Thurman, who was moving up to junior middleweight, blew away Brock Jarvis via vicious third-round knockout on Wednesday at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, Jarvis’ hometown, and set the stage for a potential fight with Australian star Tim Tszyu, the former WBO junior middleweight titlist. Tszyu was ringside doing television commentary and would need to defeat American Joey Spencer on April 6 in Newcastle, Australia.
Thurman, who didn’t fight at all in 2018, 2020 or 2021 due to injuries, was thrilled to finally be back in action and score his first knockout in seven fights, since stopping Luis Collazo in a WBA welterweight title defense in 2015.