ST. PETERSBURG - The man in the ring is more muscular, much taller, much bigger than his opponent. He shows no mercy, going in and throwing his hands around as his coach screams at him to press his advantage.
It's as if trainer Ben Getty wants this hulking man to hurt the 15-year-old boy.
He doesn't. He just wants him to make the kid better.
So Keith Thurman, not even old enough to drive, parries the bigger man, delivering a couple of vicious hooks to the head, followed by a few jabs, then some body work. He moves him back off the ropes, and Getty is now thrilled.
"Don't stop. ... Hit him," he yells, and Thurman responds.
Wap ... wapwapwap ... wap!
A buzzer goes off and Getty towels off his prodigy. Motioning to another fighter, Getty says "Your turn."
After a brief respite, Thurman is at it again, with a fresher and once again slightly bigger opponent. After a few minutes Getty has to jump in the ring and save the now not-so-fresh fighter, who is walking around the ring as if on stilts, trying to remember what day it is.
No mas. The workout is over. Thurman is impressive, and it's easy to see why Getty is so high on him.
Tomorrow, at this very time, Thurman will sit in science class at Clearwater High, wondering why he is there. Wondering why he should bother with school, which he struggles at, when boxing, which he is very good at, beckons.
School ... or boxing.
Boxing ... or school.
It's no choice, really.
* * *
From the gym that spawned world champions Jeff Lacy and Winky Wright, Thurman toils to be the next big thing. He is supremely confident, remarkably focused and blessedly skilled.
As a 15-year-old amateur, he has few peers. He has won four national championship events, the latest two months ago when he captured the 141-pound class at the 2004 Ringside World Championships.
He has sparred with Lacy, Wright and super middleweight contender Antwun Echols. A few weeks ago, he sparred with 2000 Olympian and rising star Francisco Bojado.
Nationally, his reputation as a dangerous fighter is growing.
"I think he's a great prospect," Lacy said. "As far as an amateur, he's really surprised me. The strength and the speed that he generates is impressive. He's a mix between, like, a Shane Mosley with the punching power. He can really punch for a little guy."
The word is out. When Thurman showed up for the National Police Athletic League Boxing Championships in Virginia, which started Sunday (see box), he found out the four other fighters in the 145-pound division had switched classes.
"They ran; two went up, and two went down," Getty said. "So we're moving Keith up to 154 pounds."
Thurman has an invitation to go to Houston this month to spar with Wright, the junior middleweight champ, who is preparing for his Nov. 20 rematch with Mosley. It's a golden opportunity, like a high school baseball player invited to be Barry Bonds' batting practice pitcher, or a basketball player invited to spend a month playing one-on-one with Tracy McGrady.
"That's too good an opportunity to pass up," Getty said.
* * *
To seize these opportunities, Thurman thinks he might have to withdraw from school. Beyond training with Wright, there is also the upcoming year, one Thurman feels is pivotal if he is to make the 2008 Olympic team.
"I'm not really worried about school that much, I'll get as much education as I need," said Thurman, a sophomore. "School is important, but my life as a boxer is too. And that is going to be my life."
Thurman paints a neat little picture: He plans to establish his name as an open (16 and over) fighter this year, win every major tournament he goes to, make the Olympic team, earn a medal and parlay that into a rich promotional contract that will allow him to retire after winning a few titles.
But Lacy and his trainer, Dan Birmingham, who co-owns the gym Thurman trains in, don't think the bigger picture is within view. Lacy says leaving school could be a big mistake and lead to burnout.
"He needs something. ... You can't always just think boxing all the time," said Lacy, who did not graduate from high school. "That's just too much stress. You need something to take your mind off of boxing. For me, I had a big family. But you can't think about it all the time or you're going to get tired of it. I don't think that's a good idea."
Birmingham said Wright, who had a busy amateur schedule, graduated from Gibbs. He's now a champion. So it can be done.
Many people have told Thurman he is making a mistake to consider shelving school.
"There's plenty of people who don't like it, I've heard then all," Thurman said. "But those people have not spent the last eight years of my life watching me train. They don't know what it takes to become a championship boxer and my coach does.
"A lot of people think because of the way I talk I have all my eggs in one basket, but I do have a couple of others spread out in different places. I like computer graphics, Web page design. I'm going to get some type of a level of education, even if it's my GED. Why do four years of high school knowing I'm not going to get a scholarship for college?"
Thurman said his mother, Debra Thorson, trusts Getty to make the right decision. His father, Keith Sr., doesn't know of his son's plans and recently moved out of the area. Neither could be reached for comment.
"He's an intelligent kid but he doesn't like school," Getty said. "Four years from now, if he wins the gold, what will that piece of paper do for him?"
Thurman doesn't remember his final grades after his freshman year. He just remembers getting them in the mail.
He never opened the envelope.
* * *
Getty, who said he boxed in the Army and has been training fighters for 30 years, met Thurman when he was a janitor at Belleair Elementary and Thurman was a student. Getty often would put on boxing clinics - he has worked in the famous Kronk Gym and helped train a number of amateur and pro champions - and trained kids at the local rec center. One day a 7-year-old Thurman stopped by.
Though Thurman said he remembered being nothing special, Getty said he saw instantly potential.
"I knew right away," Getty said. "He had the moves of a fighter. I saw the strength of this kid. He could do 13 pullups when he was 7. His gym teacher at the school said he was one of the best athletes that had come to the school."
Thurman remembers a smaller kid named Josh who used to "kick my butt," and a 9-year-old named Mario who "knocked me down every single day at training."
Thurman won his first fight when he was 9.
"It was in Wauchula, I think I fought at about 70-75 pounds," Thurman said. "All I remember is the bell rang - ding! - and I ran across the ring and threw all kinds of crazy punches. The kid was scared and didn't throw any back and they ended up stopping the fight."
At 12, Thurman realized he was pretty good. He absorbed as quickly as Getty taught. He won tournaments and became one of the best amateurs in the state.
While it is the dream of most amateurs to get to the Olympics, only a dozen or so every four years accomplish it. Those around him think Thurman has a legitimate shot.
"I think Keith has a positive chance," said Lacy, a 2000 Olympian. "My style was a little different. I was more of a knockout puncher. But Keith has the speed and he throws the combos and he moves. He mixes it up a little more."
Getty plans on making sure he gets there. He knows Thurman is focused, but also thinks dangers lie ahead. He says that at school, and in Thurman's Clearwater neighborhood, girls throw themselves at him, gangs try to lure him into a life of drugs, and some teachers have it in for him. Though Thurman won't elaborate, he alludes to coming close to the edge when he took time off from boxing in 2002.
"A couple of my friends ended up getting taken away and in a lot of trouble," he said.
He has steered clear since returning to the gym.
"Why not get him in an environment where I know something good will come out of it?" said Getty, who said he has a teacher friend who is willing to help Thurman get his GED.
"This is a crucial year. He will already miss so much school with the tournaments. To get into the Olympics, these two are the crucial years. It's a tough decision. Everyone is saying no no no no. But I would never do it with any other fighter except this kid. He's got to do what's right for him.
"I really think he's going to be the next superstar of boxing."
