Former unified welterweight world champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman is returning to the ring on Saturday, February 5 from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, to face former super lightweight world champion Mario ‘El Azteca’ Barrios in a 12-round welterweight showdown that will headline a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View event.
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Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios: boxing record & recent matches
Thurman’s previous fight ended in a split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao, and the 33-year-old welterweight had to wait till now to start his training for a long-awaited return to action due to injuries, a COVID, and a lack of possible bout slots at the end of 2021.
Keith Thurman presently has a record of 29 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws. He has stopped 22 of his rivals in those 29 victories, giving him a current knockout ratio of 76 percent. He only lost on the scorecards in his only defeat. He’s fought 160 rounds in his professional career, averaging 5.3 rounds per fight.
Thurman has won five of his last six fights, stopping one and reaching the complete four times.
On the 26th of January 2019, he defeated Josesito Lopez by unanimous decision in their WBA Super World Welterweight championship battle at Barclays Center in New York, USA.
Before that, he won a split decision over Danny Garcia in their WBC World Welterweight and WBA World Welterweight championship battle at Barclays Center in New York on March 4, 2017.
He has previously defeated Shawn Porter by majority verdict in their WBA World Welterweight Championship fight at Barclays Center in New York on June 25, 2016.
He had earlier beaten Luis Collazo in a WBA World Welterweight championship fight at USF Sundome in Tampa on July 11, 2015, by technical knockout in the seventh round.
On March 7, 2015, he defeated Robert Guerrero by majority verdict at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the WBA World Welterweight Championship.
Whereas, Mario Barrios’ most recent fight was on June 26, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia, against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. In the 11th round, he was defeated via technical knockout.
Mario Barrios has a record of 26 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws so far. He has stopped 17 of his opponents in those 26 victories, giving him a current knockout ratio of 65 percent. He was halted in his only loss. He’s fought in 142 rounds, averaging 5.3 rounds per fight in his professional career. However, he is now prepping up hard for his match with Barrios.
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Barrios has won his last five fights, finishing four of them and only going the distance once.
In his most recent fight, he defeated Ryan Karl by technical knockout in the sixth round of their WBA World Super Lightweight championship battle at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, the United States on October 31, 2020.
He had previously defeated Batyr Akhmedov in a WBA World Super Lightweight Championship fight at Staples Center in Los Angeles on September 28th by a majority verdict.
He triumphed by knockout in the second round against Juan Jose Velasco on the 11th of May 2019 at EagleBank Arena in Virginia.
He has previously defeated Richard Zamora by knockout in the fourth round at Dignity Health Sports Park in California on February 9, 2019.
On July 28, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, he beat Jose Roman via technical knockout in the eighth round.
Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios: height, reach, stance
Barrios is presently ranked 8th at Welterweight by the WBA and 7th at Super Lightweight by The Ring. He stands 5′ 10″ (5 Foot and 10 inches) tall, which is 178cm (1 meter and 78 centimeters). This gives him a height advantage over Thurman is 5′ 7″ (5 Foot and 7 inches), which is 171cm (1 meter and 71 centimeters)
Barrios’s reach is 70.9 inches (70.9″), which is 180 cm (1 meter and 80 centimeters), and that is again greater than that of Thurman’s, whose reach is 68.9 inches (68.9″), which is 175 cm (1 meter and 75 centimeters).
Thurman and Barrios, both have a classic orthodox stance, which means he fights with his right hand as his dominant hand.
With that being said, it would be interesting to watch who would win the fight on February 5, as Mario Barrios seems to have physical advantage over Keith Thurman. Not only that, Keith is returning after a long time and therefore, might be the most vulnerable at this point which could pave the way for Barrios’s win.
