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Thurman’s win over Guerrero may have positioned PBC for future success

Keith Thurman retains WBA title but winds up in the hospital

Guerrero-Thurman

Steve Marcus

Referee Kenny Bayless gives Robert Guerrero the count after he was knocked down by Keith Thurman during their title fight in the Premier Boxing Champions event at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 7, 2015.

Premier Boxing Champions: Guerrero vs. Thurman

WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman, left, of Clearwater, Fla., and Robert Guerrero of Gilroy, Calif., exchange punches during their title fight in the Premier Boxing Champions event at  MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 7, 2015. Launch slideshow »

Premier Boxing Champions: Broner vs. Molina

Adrien Broner of Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrates his victory over John Molina of Covina, Calif., following their super lightweight fight in the Premier Boxing Champions event at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 7, 2015. Launch slideshow »

Premier Boxing Champions: Mares vs. Reyes

Abner Mares, left, of Guadalajara, Mexico, fights Arturo Santos Reyes of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, during their featherweight match in the Premier Boxing Champions event at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 7, 2015. Launch slideshow »

The punch that dropped Robert Guerrero wouldn’t define him.

No chance, Guerrero decided. When Keith Thurman floored him with an overhand right in the ninth round Saturday night at the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions event at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Guerrero could only think of getting up and fighting back.

“He got me pretty good, but I had to keep trucking,” Guerrero said. “That’s what I do.”

Guerrero towed himself into reverence from everyone viewing boxing’s first appearance on primetime network-television in 30 years. Although Thurman retained his WBA welterweight title with a unanimous-decision victory (120-107, 118-109, 118-108), Guerrero’s response to the fight’s only knockdown was what sprung the 10,106 fans out of their seats and triggered their collective howl.

Guerrero attacked Thurman with a disregard for caution over the last three rounds, landing most of his best shots only after getting put on the ground for five seconds.

The central conceit of boxing mega-manger Al Haymon’s power move to bring the sport back to channels like NBC, which broadcasted Saturday’s card, is that the public will watch as long as there are worthwhile fights. If it’s indeed true, then Saturday’s bout between Thurman and Guerrero should have set up PBC for a promising future.

The main event showcased the rare collision of ascendance and guts. Thurman more than lived up to the potential fans had set for him in the toughest fight of his career, out-landing his opponent 211-104, according to CompuBox, but Guerrero’s resilience refused to make it easy.

“I didn’t get the win, but I think I won the hearts of America tonight,” Guerrero said. “I came and fought my heart out.”

Adrien Broner, who beat John Molina Jr. by unanimous decision (120-108, 120-108, 118-110) in the co-headliner, sported gold-framed sunglasses after the event before taking them off and joking that his face was so pristine he didn’t need them. Thurman and Guerrero likely wish they could have pulled the same stunt.

An ambulance transported Thurman to the hospital immediately, forcing him to miss the post-fight press conference, for a hematoma above his left eye. Although an inadvertent head-butt in the second round from Guerrero caused the wound, it was emblematic of the all-out battle.

A cut on Guerrero’s left eyelid required stitches, and a bruise swelled underneath his right eye. The shades Guerrero wore in the aftermath of the bout were out of necessity.

“I know I was hurting him each and every round,” Thurman said in the ring immediately after the fight. “But he’s a veteran and knew how to pace himself and stay a little out of my range.”

Broner put on a methodical, defensively focused performance against Molina that the crowd and social media received negatively. Several people surmised that PBC needed something better for its debut to go down as a success.

The next fight had its slower stretches, primarily while Thurman outclassed Guerrero in the middle rounds, but the knockdown created the spark everyone craved. Ringside color commentator Sugar Ray Leonard’s rave of Guerrero’s grit embodied what PBC hoped the moment achieved.

“This is what makes stars,” Leonard extolled. “This is what makes champions, coming back.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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