Thurman returns from long layoff, dominates Barrios in lopsided decision win

Santa Cruz cruises to shutout of Carbajal in co-feature; Ramos knocks out Hernandez; Nery wins decision over Castro

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Former unified welterweight world titleholder Keith Thurman had not fought in 31 months.

He was coming off his first loss, a decision to Manny Pacquiao, who knocked him down for the first time in his career and took his title, in July 2019. Left hand surgery followed.

So, there were many questions about whether Thurman, at 33, still had what it took to be a top fighter in the talent-rich division when he returned to the ring to headline a Premier Boxing Champions/Fox Sports pay-per-view on Saturday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

One look at Mario Barrios’ face after the 12 rounds of their WBC semifinal welterweight title elimination bout and the answer was a resounding yes.

Thurman dominated and repeatedly rocked Barrios, a former secondary junior welterweight titlist moving up to welterweight, en route to a one-sided decision victory, after which he pronounced that he was back and ready to fight for another world title.

The judges had Thurman winning 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111. Fight Freaks Unite had it a 120-108 shutout for Thurman, who swelled Barrios nose and face and opened a bloody cut over his left eye lid in a sharp performance, especially when considering the long layoff.

“I still felt a little ring rust in there but it was amazing,” Thurman said. “He was a great opponent. He had poise. I’m just happy to be back in the ring. ‘One Time’ is back!

“I really grade this one like a C+, B- for myself. But I knew I was sharp from the sparring and he was very poised. I showed him some movement. I saw some fundamental mistakes. He was crossing his feet over. I was like, OK, I can treat this boy like some of my sparring partners, and I could just fool him a little bit. Get back on the jab and land the better power shots like I did all night.”

Despite the layoff, Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs), of Clearwater, Florida, looked strong. He got right into the right landing hooks and jabs and often moved Barrios back with the shots.

Thurman said he hurt a knuckle on his left hand in the third round, but it did not slow him down.

“It was a left uppercut that bruised one of the knuckles and it made not want to throw that punch anymore,” Thurman said. “But I was getting him with the right. I cut him the right. I rocked him a few times. I got the stamina, I got the timing. I just got to go a little harder and we’re prepared to do that later on this year.”

Thurman had a big fourth round, during which he wobbled Barrios with a right hand and then, with about 40 seconds to go, with a left hook. Barrios took a beating in the round. His nose was bleeding and he looked dejected on the stool after the round as trainer Virgil Hunter tried to lift his man.

Thurman continued to have his way with Barrios and then in the final seconds of the sixth round landed a clean left hand that violently snapped Barrios’ head back.

Thurman opened a cut on Barrios’ left eyelid and it was a bloody mess in the eighth round, when he again wobbled Barrios with a clean right hand to the temple. Barrios got in a good body shot in the eighth round that seemed to momentarily take away Thurman’s wind but he quickly shook it off.

The blood continued to come down the left side of Barrios’ face in the ninth round and 10th rounds before the corner got it under control.

Barrios’ face was badly marked up and swelling, but he tried to go for a knockout in the final round. He never came close to doing the kind of fight-changing damage he needed to do as Thurman landed shots and rocked Barrios in the final seconds.

“I showed the Mexican warrior in me,” Barrios said. “I take my hat off to Keith Thurman. He’s a warrior as well. We gave the fans a great fight. I thought I made a great introduction into the welterweight division and I’m ready to fight all the big names. I’m always going to give the fans an explosive night of boxing and I can’t wait to get back in there. I’ll be back and ready to throw down in my next fight.”

Barrios (26-2, 17 KOs), 26, of San Antonio, lost his second fight in a row, having suffered a brutal 11th-round knockout to Gervonta Davis, who knocked him down twice, in June.

According to CompuBox statistics, Thurman landed 181 of 665 punches (27 percent) and Barrios landed 105 of 492 (21 percent). He outlanded Barrios in every round and threw a fight-high 70 punches in the final round.

“Who cares about the knockout,” Thurman said. “We’re gonna box hard, we’re gonna box smart. We rocked him. We weren’t able to put him down and out but we had a great performance. We had a great fight.”

Thurman has been extremely inactive in recent years but said he plans to fight again later in 2022. He fought once apiece in 2016 and 2017, twice in 2019 and not at all in 2018, 2020 or 2021.

“I want the belts, baby! I want the champions,” Thurman said.

Errol Spence Jr. holds two of the major titles and is due to face fellow PBC fighter Yordenis Ugas in a unification fight in the spring. Terence Crawford holds the other belt. Thurman did not specify who he wants, although he mentioned Spence during the build up to the bout with Barrios.

“I want to be back on top,” Thurman said. “So, whoever’s willing to send Keith Thurman a contract let’s go, baby! Let’s go!”

Santa Cruz routs Carbajal

In the co-feature, featherweight world titlist Leo Santa Cruz returned from a 16-month layoff and brutal knockout loss to Gervonta Davis in October 2020, and dominated Keenan Carbajal en route to a shutout decision in a nontitle junior lightweight bout.

Santa Cruz won 100-90 on all three scorecards.

He lost his junior lightweight belt to Davis but simultaneously held a featherweight title, which was not on the line. He plans to defend it in his next fight, but first returned to shake off the rust against Carbajal and dominated.

“I went good rounds,” Santa Cruz said. “If I had gone in there and finished him fast, I wouldn’t have gotten the experience I needed. I felt the long layoff a little bit, but I did my best and hopefully the fans loved it and want to see me again.

“We’re going to go back to the gym, get better and work on what we did wrong. We want to unify and defend our title. We want all the champions at 126 pounds.”

The only issue for Santa Cruz (38-2-1, 19 KOs), 33, of Rosemead, California, was suffering a cut over his right eye from an accidental head butt in the fourth round. Referee Robert Hoyle called timeout to have the ringside doctor examine the wound but the fight was allowed to continue.

Hoyle called timeout again in the sixth round to have the eye checked again, but Santa Cruz, comfortably ahead, wanted to go on and he was allowed to.

“The cut over the eye happened in the second or third round,” Santa Cruz said. “He head-butted me, and then right away I felt it was bleeding. The blood was going into my eye. Luckily, it was only a little blood and my vision was slightly blurry at times, but I didn’t want that to stop the fight.”

He worked Carbajal to the head and body and was never in any danger. According to CompuBox, Santa Cruz landed 250 of 796 punches (31 percent) and Carbajal landed 139 of 566 (25 percent).

Carbajal (23-3-1, 15 KOs), 30, of Phoenix, who is the estranged nephew of Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal, saw the end of an 18-fight winning streak since he dropped a six-rounder in 2015.

Carbajal was taking an enormous step up in competition and was at a disadvantage early in the fight when he appeared to hurt his left arm/hand and largely stopped using it.

“We went 10 strong rounds. It was a hard fought fight,” Carbajal said. “The scores were what they were, but I stood up to the challenge and I felt like I belonged. I was up to the challenge. I backed Leo up, and nobody backs Leo up like that. He doesn’t back down against anybody.”

Ramos stops Hernandez

Junior middleweight up-and-comer Jesus Ramos (18-0, 15 KOs) knocked out Vladimir Hernandez (13-5, 6 KOs) in the sixth round.

Hernandez, 32, a Mexico native fighting out of Stockton, California, had his moments, but Ramos, 20, a southpaw from Casa Grande, Arizona, proved to be too much. In the sixth round, Ramos badly hurt Hernandez with a clean left hand and was all over him. He unloaded around 20 more punches that sent a helpless Hernandez into the ropes and forced referee Mike Ortega to step in and wave it off at 2 minutes, 21 seconds.

“I was boxing him smartly and I wasn’t really looking for the knockout,” Ramos said. “He’s a tough, durable guy. I broke him down round by round, landing a clean shot that hurt him, so I got the job done

“We want to build our resume, like Floyd Mayweather did. He had (Arturo) Gatti, (Diego) Corrales, (Jose Luis) Castillo and all the guys. That's something you can’t take away from him and that’s what I want to do. I want to earn my reputation. I’m not here to have Instagram followers. I’m here to make a statement in boxing.”

Nery outpoints Castro

In the opening bout of the pay-per-view, former bantamweight and junior featherweight titlist Luis Nery won a spirited split decision over Carlos Castro. Two judges had it for Nery, 96-93 and 95-94, and one surprisingly had it for Castro, 96-93.

Nery dropped Castro to his rear end with a straight left hand early in the first round. Castro beat the count and was able to mostly keep away from Nery for the rest of the rounds while he composed himself.

“My experience was definitely a factor,” Nery said through an interpreter. “I have three world title fights under my belt and have faced tougher opponents than he has. It showed tonight. I wanted to show everyone that I’m not just about haymakers. If I want to brawl and be tactical, I can do that too. I knew I could knock him out, but I wanted to win proving I could box too. I would counter punch and attack the way I wanted to.”

Nery (32-1, 24 KOs), 27, a Mexican southpaw, rebounded from losing his junior featherweight belt by seventh-round knockout to Brandon Figueroa in his first defense in his last fight on May 15.

Castro (27-1, 12 KOs), 27, of Phoenix, said he thought Nery was the rightful winner.

“It was my mistake. I thought I could have won the fight but it’s boxing, part of the sport,” Castro said. “I don’t take it as a loss. I take it as a learning experience. The scores were fair. He did enough to win. The first round shocked me. I wasn’t really hurt. It was more of a shock. He connected with a good shot. It happens. Of course, I’m disappointed because of all the hard work I did, but it’s a learning experience.”

Photos: Ryan Hafey/PBC

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