Back in my youth, the crusty old-timers in the gym would sometimes disparage a young, developing fighter by saying that he has ?a bit of jackrabbit? in him. This meant that when the kid got hit and hurt, he?d giddy up and run for his life in fear, with self-preservation trumping the will to win.
More often than not, the ?jackrabbit? tag was applied to otherwise studly fighters?beautiful physical specimens gifted with real, elite-level athleticism?who, when actually knocked around in battle, would choose ?flight? as their ?fight or flight? response. Mind you, this was not about being hurt and holding on for dear life? something which happens to most fighters at some point. It?s about a fighter whose default reaction to being banged is panic. It was an instinct, something that couldn?t be expunged from a man?s character. And, while strategies could be built around this defect and other attributes could be cultivated to make up for having this issue, sooner or later this perfectly normal human instinct would lead to a fighter?s downfall.
None of this means that a fighter can?t become a world class boxer with ?a bit of jackrabbit? in him. Some fighters have built their entire ring style around this character trait and have worked long and hard, developing skills to make sure they feel the buzz of big shots as little as possible. Matchmaking can play a huge role in negating the ?jackrabbit.? Playing the weight game, fighting at an artificially low weight for as long as possible, can also keep these fighters from being bent under pressure.
But most ?jackrabbit? fighters will eventually be exposed, beaten, and removed from the game.
The question is this?Does Keith Thurman have a bit of the jackrabbit in him?
It would be easy to dismiss an uneven performance and a nearly catastrophic seventh round against Josesito Lopez last Saturday at the Barclays Center as the product of ring rust. After all, Thurman had been away from the ring for 22 months. But fight fans have seen the same blank-eyed panic in ?One Time? before, notably in the fifth round of his 2015 bout with Luis Collazo when he was badly hurt with a body shot from the veteran spoiler.
In Thurman, there seems to be a switch that goes from ?brilliant? to ?oh, hell?let?s get out of here? and all it takes to flip that switch is one brief moment where a game opponent busts through Thurman?s best laid plans. It happened Saturday against Lopez, a few times, and it will keep happening as Thurman ages, slows down, and opponents pick up on this apparent character trait.
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, while not feeding into the ?jackrabbit? theory, did come out in a recent interview and flat-out say that he felt Thurman was done as a fighter.
?Well I don?t think Keith Thurman can fight anymore,? Arum told Fight Hub TV. ?I thought he was awful with Lopez. I mean let?s be honest about it: Lopez is not an elite fighter, never was an elite fighter, and he had Thurman out of there in the 7th round. And you know Lopez is not known for knocking anybody out, and the referee could?ve very well stopped the fight in that round.?
And the post-Lopez fight reaction from around the boxing world supports Arum?s assessment. Former Arum client and now Thurman PBC stablemate, Manny Pacquiao, has been tossed around as a possible Thurman foe. And Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, who previously would not have let his guy within sniffing distance of a physical specimen like Thurman, is suddenly embracing the idea of Pacquiao-Thurman because, as Arum said, ?Freddie sees the same thing I did.?
Whether Thurman is on the verge of being exposed as a gifted, but fatally flawed fighter remains to be seen. Thurman was able to overcome Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia ?as is,? but those opponents? built-in flaws played perfectly to Thurman?s strengths and he was able to use his natural gifts to eventually ride to victory.
The question of Thurman?s long-term viability as a major player in the division will be answered in the coming months as the current WBA welterweight champ moves forward in his comeback, inching closer to elite-level challenges against fighters like Errol Spence and Manny Pacquiao whose offensive strengths play into Thurman?s apparent weaknesses.
