Thurman Says Fundora “Doesn’t Want This Smoke”

Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman took to social media to vent about his frustration with WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora postponing their October 25th fight due to a left-hand injury from a sparring session in camp. The fight could be pushed back to January 2026 to give Fundora time to heal.

“Funny Stuff” in the Game

Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) believes there’s something fishy going on with Fundora (23-0-1, 15 KOs) to make him pull out. He didn’t say what he suspects, but you can imagine where his mind is going.

“People don’t believe you, son; they think you’re running, they think you’re doing funny stuff in the game. You wouldn’t be the first or the last. Speedy recovery to you – let’s make history happen. Don’t back out of a great fight,” said Keith Thurman on Instagram, scolding Sebastian Fundora for postponing their October 25 fight.

It’s kind of pathetic that Fundora is stooping to the level of defending against an undeserving Thurman, 36, because he has done absolutely zero to earn a title shot. He’s getting the title shot based on what he did 9-13 years ago when he was still active and at the top of his game.

“Nobody Believes You Want Smoke”

“Nobody believes you want this smoke, baby. Fix up, heal up, and let’s go to war,” said Thurman.

It wouldn’t be the smartest thing in the world for Thurman to do by going “to war” against the much younger, bigger, and dare I say more talented 27-year-old Fundora. This fight is a pure mismatch on paper, and the odds reflect that.

Mismatch on Paper

Thurman is a massive underdog in this fight and has done little to deserve a world title shot after just one fight in the last three years.

Thurman Cashes In After Three-Year Vacation

Keith’s guaranteed purse is $1.5 million for the fight, and he could earn as much as $5 million from pay-per-view revenue and sponsorships.

For a fighter that has been sitting on the shelf for three years, apart from his recent fight against lower-level boxer Brock Jarvis, that’s good money. It beats working for a living.

I believe I speak for everyone when I say, Thurman should have at least been required to fight these sharks to earn a title shot against Fundora:

• Erickson Lubin
• Vergil Ortiz Jr.
• Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
• Israil Madrimov
• Brandon Adames
• Yoenis Tellez

Written by Ken Woods, Ringside Boxing Analyst, covering world title fights since 2018.