Keith Thurman vs Danny Garcia: The Battle of Unbeaten Champions

This will be a fight that separates the top fighters in the 147 division. This is the biggest test Danny Garcia has faced since moving up to the welterweight division. Keith Thurman has answered every challenge put in front of him so far. That includes his biggest win to date over Shawn Porter. 

Both fighters have faced some tough opposition, but neither has faced the kind of fighter that they'll see in each other. Danny Garcia faced his toughest opponents at 140 lbs. There are those who believe he should have two losses on his record as he moved up to welterweight. It's my opinion that he lost to Mauricio Herrera and Lamont Peterson. I also believe that Garcia's 16th fight against Ashley Theophane should have been a draw. 

Despite the fact that I think Danny should have 2 losses and a draw on his record, he's still an incredible fighter. He may not wow you in any one area, but Garcia is a fundamentally a great fighter and does everything at an above average level. Thurman has faced a complete fighter in Shawn Porter, but I think that Porter is more limited in terms of skill than Garcia. I'm not saying that I think Garcia wins against Porter in a head to head battle, but I think Garcia is the better textbook fighter. 

Keith Thurman who goes by One Time, is exactly what his name indicates. He's got very powerful shots and knows how to land them. Some guys would have to land the perfect shot to knock a guy out, but Keith Thurman just needs to catch them a little. His body has been questioned, as he's shown that he can be caught there. I don't think that Thurman is necessarily weak to the body, but it's more of a case of him just getting caught in the body with good shots instead of the head. If they'd gotten in up stairs we'd be questioning his chin. I think all roads point to Thurman vs. Spence, and we'll find out for sure then whether or not Thurman can handle real body shots. 

Danny Garcia can box or he can brawl on the inside. He can be the aggressor and he can sit back and counter another top level fighter all night long. As I'd said earlier I don't think Danny's record should be perfect, but I do recognize him as an elite level fighter. He really is one of the most well rounded fighters out there. He isn't the best at any one thing, but he's well above average at everything. He's consistent and makes the right decisions and adjustments. Never mind what I might think Danny Garcia is undefeated and has passed every test put before him so far, but none of those guys were Keith Thurman. 




Fight Prediction

Danny Garcia can box with Keith Thurman. There is no doubt Garcia has the tools to give Thurman hell from the outside. The problem for Danny is that Keith Thurman is going to get in close and that's not where Garcia wants to be. If that's where it goes, and I think it will, Danny Garcia will want it to go there. He has a better than average defense, but if there was one thing that you had to find wrong with him it'd be his defense. He's there to be hit and hit hard throughout a fight. If he lets his guard down against Thurman he will be knocked out. The best thing that Garcia could do is counter off of a good defense, but that's not what I think he'll do. 

The Garcia camp believes the hype. They think Thurman is weak to the body and plan on testing him there. That puts him in a bad place against Thurman. To really test the body he'll have to fight Thurman on the inside, and that's all wrong for Danny. I think Thurman would knock him out in that type of fight. I think that's where the fight will end up because of both fighters willingness to go there. Garcia believes he really has a shot on the inside, and Keith would be all too willing to trade power shots on the inside with Danny. That's where I see the fight going and I don't see any way that Garcia wins that kind of fight.