Keith Thurman prepared to remind critics of his greatness after second lengthy absence from the ring

Thurman, 33, will fight for just the third time in the last four years when he takes on Mario Barrios on Saturday night

In a moment of a self-reflection, Keith Thurman can admit the last five years of his career have gone in a direction that was anything but planned or expected.  

One shouldn't allow his penchant for speaking in the third person to distract from the fact that Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) is capable of producing such an honest critique regarding the highs and lows of a pro career that began in 2007. 

In March 2017, Thurman appeared to have it all. He had just unified welterweight titles by edging unbeaten Danny Garcia and was one fight removed from a career-defining victory over Shawn Porter in a 12-round thriller on national television. At 28, Thurman had the best active resume of the post Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao era in boxing's money division at 147 pounds.