“Sign Tonight Or Lose Out”: Thurman’s Aggressive Contract Demand To Corner Tim Tszyu

Keith Thurman took to social media today, urging Tim Tszyu to send him a contract for his next fight. He wants it sent tonight so he can sign it.

Tonight’s Tactic

There’s a strategy behind this move. The wily, old ‘One Time’ Thurman, 36, is pressuring Tszyu (25-2, 18 KOs) to get the fight done before he can look in another direction toward a more lucrative match against Sebastian Fundora or Errol Spence. Keith is using an old salesman trick, hoping that Tim is gullible.

Tszyu should wait until he and his team see the best deal. Fighting Thurman won’t do much for Tim’s legacy. He’d be better off avenging his loss to Fundora or taking a bigger-money fight against the more popular Errol Spence.

Thurman never attained the kind of fame that he could have because he became a part-time fighter after his grueling battle with Danny Garcia in 2017. Thurman has only fought four times since that fight in the last eight years. That’s pathetic.

If Tszyu goes in another direction, Thurman will be forced to wait, age more, and sit on the shelf until he’s free. If Tim takes that fight next, there’s a good chance he will lose to Fundora, resulting in a longer wait time for Thurman. With Keith as inactive and aged as he is now, he can’t afford to wait.

Last Saturday, the former WBO junior middleweight champion Tszyu knocked out Joey Spencer (19-2, 11 KOs) in the fourth round at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, in Newcastle, Australia. The fight was designed as a pick-me-up for Tim to boost his self-confidence after he’d been blown out in three rounds in a loss to IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev on October 19th in Orlando, Florida.

Tszyu didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he took that fight, and by the time he discovered what he was up against, it was too late. The fight was basically over after the first knockdown in round two. Tszyu never recovered from the left hook that Murtazaliev dropped him with in that round. He knocked Tim down thrice before the fight was halted in the third round.

The Contract Trap

“Congratulations, Tim Tszyu. I see you got through with that appetizer. I got through with mine [Brock Jarvis]. I got him out in three. I got him out in four,” said Keith Thurman on social media, sending a message to Tim Tszyu following his win over Joey Spencer last Saturday night in Australia.

“I don’t know about you, boy, but I’m still hungry. Send the contract. Send the contract. I’ll sign it by tonight. I promise you, I’ll come to Australia and give you a good fight. Let”s go,” said Thurman.