Keith Thurman fell short in his attempt to dethrone Sebastian Fundora and claim the WBC super-welterweight championship.
Since the loss, “One Time” has compared Fundora’s punching power to that of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, a former opponent.
Thurman lost a split decision and his unbeaten record to Pacquiao in 2019 after being knocked down in the opening round. He fought just once more over the following six years, returning in March 2025 with a knockout win over Brock Jarvis in Australia.
That triumph earned the former unified welterweight world champion a shot at Fundora’s WBC 154-pound title, but “The Towering Inferno” handed Thurman a second career defeat, ending the bout inside the distance when referee Thomas Taylor waved it off in round six.
Speaking with Fight Hub TV, Thurman suggested that Pacquiao hit harder than the reigning WBC titleholder, while also disputing Taylor’s decision to stop the contest.
“If he [Fundora] hit hard then he would have dropped me. Manny Pacquiao dropped me, he didn’t stop me.
“Fundora stopped me, but he didn’t drop me! That is my argument with that one. I understand [why they stopped it], but I say that they pulled the plug quickly.
“Let fighters finish fights, what is wrong with that? What happened to Knockout of the Year? What happened to all of these things that we used to witness back in the day?
“I know that we want to protect our athletes and different things, but a fight is going to be over when the fight is over, or it should be closer to over. Don’t just pull the plug on the fight because it’s a little uncomfortable to watch.”
Thurman is scheduled to fight again this year, meeting Vergil Ortiz Jr. in a middleweight bout on the Benavidez-Cieslak undercard on Saturday, December 5.