In Saturday night’s PBC on FOX main event, WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman’s return to the ring proved tougher than expected, as he survived getting badly hurt in round seven to win a majority decision over heavy underdog Josesito Lopez. Thurman (29-0-1 NC, 22 KOs) had been out of action for two years due to injuries, and despite an early knockdown of Lopez (36-8-1 NC, 19 KOs), this “tune-up” fight was no walk in the park.
While Thurman and Lopez put on a show at Barclays Center, we cannot ignore that one of the highlights of the evening was the presence of referee Steve Willis.