Keith Thurman: I didn't want fight with Luis Collazo but need to stay active

LAS VEGAS - Keith Thurman badly wants to find out how great he can be, but his next bout won't likely tell us much.

The 26-year-old will fight in the debut of PBC on ESPN and gets to do it near his hometown of Clearwater, Fla. Luiz Collazo, though, isn't expected to test the WBA's "regular" welterweight beltholder. The 34-year-old has seen better days and was dominated by Amir Khan last year.

"(Fighting Collazo) was not on my priority list, but at the end of the day, I wanted to stay active," Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) told Paste BN Sports. "For the first time in my career, when (my team) called me about my next fight, they actually only gave me one name. Normally, I hear a list of names and they're just like 'Luis Collazo will fight you,' and I'm like 'OK.'

"What else am I going to say? Go find somebody else? … Who did I have to fight this summer? It wasn't what I wanted, but … if this was the man that wanted to sign on the dotted line then this is what it's going to be."

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Indeed much of the 147-pound division is tied up at the moment as Thurman pointed out during the interview. Adrien Broner just fought Shawn Porter. Amir Khan slipped past Chris Algieri last month. Danny Garcia takes on Paulie Malignaggi in August. It left Thurman with a less than desirable opponent, but it's important to stay active when you're trying to build momentum.

"I don't see a lot for me to gain (against Collazo)," Thurman admitted. "There's a lot to lose. I can lose a lot of respect depending on how the performance ends up. … I'm trying to create a career for myself, but not just any career, I'm trying to create a legacy. In the midst of having great fights, sometimes you have good fights and sometimes you just have a fight."

Assuming Thurman gets past Collazo with little trouble as expected, the eloquent fighter should get a notable dance partner in the fall. Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he wants Thurman to take on protege Errol Spence on the all-time great's undercard on Sept. 12. Thurman says he's up for the challenge but of course would rather face the money man himself.

"I don't think he wants to fight me, he wants me and Errol to fight so he can see if Errol can handle me," Thurman said. "Obviously he believes in Errol's skills and talents. I already know that it's going to be a good fight. … I'm here to fight. I'm here to know how good am I? How good am I in the world of boxing?"

"I'm 'One Time' for a reason. So (Spence) can have all the confidence in the world, but he's not going to want to get caught like none of these boys."

A two-month gap between fights is tough, but Thurman says if the bout with Collazo is "a two- to four-round stoppage, yeah, I can turn around and do it." He's looking to stop him early, too, especially as a measuring stick versus Khan, who went the distance with Collazo. If Thurman can't get Spence in the fall, he'd love to face Marcos Maidana (to compare himself against a Floyd opponent) or Kell Brook ("I think he's slightly underrated, I like his style.")