Keith Thurman Torches Referee for Stoppage in Loss to Sebastian Fundora

Keith Thurman does not believe he was given a fair chance in his loss to Sebastian Fundora.

As the older fighter facing a stark 10-inch height and 11-inch reach disadvantage, Thurman was up against it all night. However, he believes the biggest challenge he faced was referee Thomas Taylor, whom he threw under the bus for what he felt was a premature stoppage.

Thurman held nothing back after the loss, claiming that Taylor should never work another main event again.

Keith Thurman | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Thurman addresses fight stoppage

"Whoever the f--- that referee was, don't hire him for f---ing main event s--- ever again," Thurman said after the loss, via Fight Hub TV. "Do you remember Erik Morales vs. Marcos Maidana? Do you remember how many times people fought with broken orbital bones? S***'s not even broken, man. I never got dropped in the whole fight. I'm getting caught on the back end of punches.

"The referee told me in the locker room, 'Show me something, move your feet, duck your head and I won't stop the fight.' I was using my legs. I'm getting caught on the back end; I wasn't buckled. He just jumped in like a white rabbit, man. Them little hoppy referees, they're not ready for main event boxing.

"The fight was getting fun; the people were standing up on their feet. We were just getting into the grind and he was getting really comfortable swinging wide because he's young, because he trains hard. He put that press, that volume pressure, and the referee reacted to that.

"Fundora's preparation, his fight style, it all ended up working out for him, but as an O.G., four more minutes, it would've been a lot of fun, I promise you. Four more minutes and he could've made a mistake right in front of me. I was waiting for it. I knew it was going to be one of these tough fights against a young champion. I have that long-term vision, but the ref didn't let me get there."

Keith Thurman goes off on the referee that stopped his fight vs Fundora‼️‼️👀

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Sebastian Fundora defends WBC belt with Keith Thurman beatdown

Taylor stopped the fight at 1:17 in the sixth round after Fundora had Thurman retreating to a flurry of unanswered punches. The stoppage did not come after a singular punishing blow, but Thurman's face had been completely bloodied and bruised to that point.

While Thurman feels that he drew the short end of the stick, the numbers suggest otherwise. According to Compubox, Fundora officially landed 96 punches to just 28 for Thurman. Neither recorded a knockdown, but Fundora came within inches of scoring one, buckling the veteran's knees nearly to the canvas with a counter left hand in the second round.

The fight ended a long-standing rivalry that spanned nearly six months, with multiple bout cancellations in between. Fundora is now in line to potentially face another titleholder in a 154-pound division that has suddenly become one of the best in boxing.