The sport of boxing has a strange way of finding those who need it. It unearths diamonds from coal, discovering kindred spirits destined for triumph in the squared circle. Before former unified welterweight champion, Keith “One Time” Thurman, was headlining PPVs and fighting in front of thousands of fans, one man saw potential in him from a young age.
Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) met the man who would introduce him to the sweet science, Ben Getty, an ex-military man and head custodian at an elementary school, at age 7. Getty ran an after-school boxing program at the YMCA, where he witnessed and foresaw something others hadn’t yet fully realized. He saw the promise in Thurman and foretold one day the young Floridian would become a world champion. Getty’s belief in Thurman held weight.
Thurman didn’t let Getty’s words be forgotten; he made sure the prophecy came true.
“When Keith Thurman is champion of the world, it was to make sure that Ben Getty never told a lie,” Thurman stated in an interview with Andre Berto.
Getty passed away in 2009 when Thurman was 20 years old, only two years into his professional career, but his words and teachings never left Thurman.
It’s been more than a decade since Thurman fulfilled his promise to Getty, cementing his words from prediction to fact. Thurman won the WBA and WBC welterweight titles, winning high-profile and exciting fights against the likes of Robert Guerrero, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia. Thurman had become one of the top welterweights of his era and positioned himself as one of boxing’s biggest stars.
As Thurman prepares to face Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) for the WBC junior middleweight title on March 28, there is unfinished business. Thurman’s promise to his late trainer has changed from becoming a world champion to becoming one again and proving to himself that his late trainer’s words still hold true.
The Years That Slipped Away
Whether you are a fan or a detractor of Thurman’s, it’s undeniable that he has the charisma, talent, and intelligence to be one of boxing’s most compelling characters. And while his career has seen more success than most, it’s been defined lately by injuries, long layoffs, and missed opportunities.
On July 20, 2019, Thurman’s career trajectory was forever changed. At 30 years of age, Thurman was set to add a win over a legend to his resume when he faced a then-40-year-old Manny Pacquiao. Instead of becoming a night of validation, the fight with Pacquiao would be one of regret and the beginning of a downward spiral for Thurman.
Thurman, possibly underestimating the Filipino legend, was knocked down in the first round, losing a close but clear decision and suffering his first career loss.
“So there was a time in my career where, as I was winning, as I unified, I just thought, well, I have to be the best of my generation, and I don’t get the other generation,” Thurman explained. I don’t get to partake in that other generation.
“If there’s any regret I have, it’s not relocating for that one camp. Yeah, you know, because the fight was big enough. I should have honored it. I always said if I had to fight Floyd, I would have done XYZ. So, the fact that I didn’t treat Pacquiao like Floyd, you know, that was on me.”
In the aftermath of the Pacquiao fight, Thurman faced one hurdle after another. The former welterweight champion had dealt with injuries and layoffs before his fight with Shawn Porter and after his bout with Danny Garcia, where he was out of the ring from March 2017 to January 2019, but not to this extent.
Thurman’s toughest opponent would prove to be one that all fighters eventually succumb to and rarely truly recover from–time. Since 2019, Thurman has only fought twice, in February 2022 and March 2025, against the likes of Mario Barrios and Brock Jarvis.
“I fought two times in five years,” said Thurman. “I don’t wish this upon any fighter.”
In March 2024, Thurman was set to face then-unbeaten Tim Tszyu for the WBC and WBO junior middleweight titles. A chance to not only become a world champion again but do so as an underdog against a fighter many believed was the future of the division. However, it wasn’t meant to be. During a sparring session in training camp, Thurman injured a tendon in his bicep. He would require surgery and was forced to pull out of the fight.
Instead, he had to watch from the sidelines as Fundora stepped in his place, beating Tszyu in a bloody back-and-forth war.
“There weren’t a lot of good highlights pulling out of the Tim Tszyu fight,” stated Thurman. “My bicep tendon popped in the 11th round of sparring, exactly two weeks before fight night. The surgery was already done by the time the fight was done, and I watched Tim Tszyu taking first defeat of his career, knowing that it was supposed to be me on that night.”
Arguably, as difficult as dealing with the inactivity and injuries that kept him out of the ring was an identity crisis for Thurman. A former world champion, once considered one of the best in the sport, was now viewed as a liability.
“I was coming off of my surgery,” expressed Thurman. “And every time they looked at me, all they saw was a question mark. Can he get to the finish line? Is he going to break down? Is he at that stage of his career? Stop with these questions. Stop questioning me and who I am and what I’m capable of doing.”
Thurman has heard and felt fans’ thoughts over the last five years. Declarations of mockery calling him “No Time” instead of “One Time”, with calls for him to retire and call it quits.
For most fighters, the time spent outside the ring, constant battles with injuries, and the dismissiveness of the boxing public would have been enough to prompt many to hang up their gloves. Thurman won titles and earned enough money to secure his family’s future. However, some people aren’t wired to walk away on anybody else’s terms but their own.
There is still a desire to pursue something only fighters understand.
“It’s hard for people to understand that on a certain level, we really do get addicted,” Thurman said. “We get addicted to every different aspect. And of course, the most addictive aspect is winning.”
One More Round
Now, at 37, Thurman is at a crossroads in a do-or-die fight. Fundora walks into the bout as the champion with all the advantages. He is nine years younger with an eight-inch height advantage, an anomaly for the weight class, standing at over 6’5, an 11-inch reach advantage, and is the more active fighter.
However, for Thurman, Fundora represents more than just an opponent with multiple physical obstacles to overcome. He embodies an opportunity to showcase that he still has unfinished business.
Thurman is being doubted, overlooked, and questioned. Still, his belief in himself, his ability, and his purpose remain. More importantly, his late trainer’s words are always with him.
On March 28, Thurman will look to prove that Getty’s prophecy isn’t finished. It’s about more than proving doubters wrong but proving something to himself.
“My destiny found me,” says Thurman. “This was really meant to be.”
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