In the main event of the first boxing on NBC in primetime since 1985, Keith Thurman took on Robert Guerrero, and those of us that hoped for boxing to succeed as a whole wanted this welter tangle to impress. Thurman made sure that many rounds were all Thurman, and threatened to stop the Ghost in round nine, so no, this wasn’t a classic tussle; but Guerrero hung tough and had the crowd jazzed when he pressed things late. It was Thurman’s smart boxing, better hand speed, accuracy and mobility which had the judges give him love, UD12, at the MGM.

120-107, 118-109, 118-108 for Thurman read the cards, so God bless em, the judges didn’t have me talking corruptitude.

In the first, Ghost, a lefty, slipped a Thurman bomb to start. Thurman was the main aggressor to start then settled down in the last minute. His power gave him the round.

In the second, Ghost came out more aggressive. But Thurman clicked into gear, locked in, and worked the body, backed Ghost up. In the third, Thurman banged home a clean right to end another solid round. His mobility edge helped him steer clear of Ghost fire.

In the fourth, Thurman used a paw jab to keep Ghost at bay. Ghost didn’t press the issue all that much. Ghost scored well with a right counter when Thurman blundered in. But Thurman won another round. He did have a knot on the left side of his head.

In the fifth, we saw Guerrero miss wide a few times, but he was stepping it up. In the sixth, Thurman moved more. Was he getting tired? Thurman sensed an edge late and looked to bomb.

In round seven, Ghost looked to load up and telegraphed too much. His jab wasn’t much, as he knew the quicker-handed Thurman could land a counter right. In the eighth, Thurman moved smartly, slid away out of danger, landed rights to the body, and had Guerrero a step behind.

In the ninth, the Floridian, now 25-0, moved and stayed smart. He saw everything coming at him, and dodged it. He then scored a knockdown, with 40 seconds left. We saw blood on the left eye of Ghost (32-3). The knock, second of his CAREER, was off a clipping right hook off the ear. In the tenth, Ghost got a tape break. Ghost worked harder and tried to take it to Thurman. He scored some with Keith on the ropes. The crowd dug the back and forth.

In the 11th, Ghost followed KT but couldn’t get off. In the 12th, Thurman stayed smart. He ran a bit, but hurled enough to remain credible. Ghost pressed him, and landed some. Thurman was a bit tired and wild by now. They heard the final bell…

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