Thurman had surgery on left hand- out until 2020

Fresh off his close split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao, Keith “One Time” Thurman is on the road to recovery after having surgery on his left hand on September 4th. Thurman in a report by Yahoo Sports advised them he expects to be at 100 percent when he returns back into the ring in 2020.

“The surgery was a bone fusion, so they fused some of my metacarpals,” Thurman said to Yahoo Sports. “There is not an issue with my fingers or the knuckles that I make a fist with. It feels so much better now. Right after surgery, it was quite painful with a lot of initial swelling. Right now, it feels good and it’s not swollen as it was. I’m not on any pain meds or anything.”

Former welterweight champion @keithfthurmanjr had surgery on his left hand Sept. 4 and is out until 2020. He expects to fully recover. My story is on @YahooSports now https://t.co/XK8I9E05MJ

— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) September 21, 2019

Thurman told Yahoo that the hand plagued him during 2019 in camp and in both of his fights. Thurman did state that he expects to fully recover and be pain-free when it heals up.

“[The pain] was there all year,” Thurman said to Yahoo. “It was there in the Josesito Lopez fight and it was there in the Pacquiao fight. But as a world champion, I had to fight and that’s what I did. At the end of the day, there are no excuses, but I wasn’t at my best physically in either of them. I had to fight through it.

Thurman was out almost two years after having elbow surgery following his unification title victory over Danny Garcia on March 4, 2017. At the time that, made him the WBA and WBC champion. Due to bone spurs in his elbow, he didn’t step into the ring again until he defeated Josesito Lopez in January of this year.

Thurman faced off against Pacquiao in what was the biggest pay-per-view of 2019. In that fight, Pacquiao knocked him down in the first round but Thurman recovered and made the fight very close, losing by split decision back in July. With the surgery now done and the loss in the rearview, Thurman is looking to bounce back in 2020.

“I have lived my dream to the fullest, and I’ve accomplished a lot in this sport already,” Thurman said. “The last thing I want is to stop here and now. I have a bright future and I’m in one of the best and most exciting divisions. That helps me keep my head up high and helps keep me motivated.