Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman - July 20, 2019

[Ruthless-RKO]

Been finalised now.





But then..

Despite chatter than Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman will meet in a welterweight world title fight July 20, Sean Gibbons, a close Pacquiao adviser, told ESPN there is no deal or date for any fight other than that he plans to box in July. He said Pacquiao, a senator in the Philippines, hasn't yet turned his attention to his next fight specifics because he is busy campaigning for candidates in the May 13 Filipino elections. “July 13 or July 20 is possible. The Senator is still working out his political duties here before making a final decision but is looking to returning to the ring in July,” Gibbons said. “After the May 13 elections the Senator will get in serious conversations to move to close a fight. Until he gets done with elections he is not committed to anything.”


Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer

[Ruthless-RKO]

This fight is basically around the corner from being announced.

[gilgamesh]

They just announced it on the Hurd vs Williams card. It's official.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It was officially announced on FOX that a deal was finalized for a welterweight battle between Keith Thurman and Manny Pacquiao.

The FOX Sports pay-per-view fight will take place on July 20th.

Thurman holds the WBA's "super" title at welterweight, while Pacquiao is the WBA's "regular" champion of the division.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Best Coast]

I have it a close fight with Thurman winning a narrow decision. But if their last bouts were any indication it could go Pac's way (Pac handled Broner easily while Keith struggled with Josesito Lopez).

[apollo creed]

Lazy Sometime Thurman gets beaten by old Pac. Pac should retire as a champion after that.

[DrDuke]

A great matchup for Thurman now, cause he returned declined after the lay-off. Pac is past it, but still a star of the sport. Yet Pac is still decent, so Thurman should be ready better, than for his previous fight, cause if he is in that shape again, I won't be surprised in a case of Pac's victory. But probably Thurman will prepare well for such important matchup, I favor Thurman to score a close decision.

[jamamb]

lol there still trying to bill thurman as a power puncher

[SenorPipino]

I expect Thurman to be much improved from his Lopez performance.

If Pacquiao is expecting the same Thurman, he's making a big mistake.

And it's a mistake anyway you cut it. Thurman is younger, stronger and hits harder than Pacquiao.

He's not a smaller, old Matthysse or a Broner who is fearful of letting his hands go.

Thurman will make Pacquiao look every bit of his 40 years.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Run time thurman is the most overrated puncher ever. Hes looked like crap against lopez but he probably took him lightly.

Pacquiao wil get tired chasing thurman. Thurman should win a decision against the 40 year old legs of pacman

[hoagylt]

If Pac has 20% left he beats Thurman.

[gilgamesh]

My gut feeling when I first see the matchup is Thurman wins a close decision, but Pacquiao winning a close one wouldn't shock me either.

I think Thurman's ranginess will help him here, and obviously Pac's age will help him a lot.

[gilgamesh]

Lazy Sometime Thurman gets beaten by old Pac. Pac should retire as a champion after that.

Yes I definitely think Pac should retire off of this win if he indeed gets it. It'd be an excellent capper to his career, and likely would be the biggest victory he'd still be capable of at this point. He's only getting older from here, and started his career as a freakin' light flyweight for f*cks sake. I just don't see any conceivable way he could remain competitive for much longer at the top level, but that being said. There's no reason to believe he's not still capable of giving Thurman all he can handle. Win or Lose.

[SenorPipino]

Yes I definitely think Pac should retire off of this win if he indeed gets it. It'd be an excellent capper to his career, and likely would be the biggest victory he'd still be capable of at this point. He's only getting older from here, and started his career as a freakin' light flyweight for f*cks sake. I just don't see any conceivable way he could remain competitive for much longer at the top level, but that being said. There's no reason to believe he's not still capable of giving Thurman all he can handle. Win or Lose.

If Pacquiao can somehow overcome Thurman, he'll think of himself as indestructible and demand Spence.

He won't retire until he has no choice. Especially if he needs to pay off hefty tax debts.

[NateJR]

If Thurman shows up anywhere near his form, pre layoff, I think he handles Pacquaio relatively easily. If Thurman comes in like he did Lopez, Pacquaio will win. Thurman by Decision for me.

[IKSRTFO]

I say Thurman wins if this was 2-3 years ago. Just fighting Josesito Lopez coming back isn't enough to convince me he's fresh enough to beat even an old Pac. 40 year old Pacquiao is still more dangerous than Josesito Lopez.

[IKSRTFO]

I expect Thurman to be much improved from his Lopez performance.

If Pacquiao is expecting the same Thurman, he's making a big mistake.

And it's a mistake anyway you cut it. Thurman is younger, stronger and hits harder than Pacquiao.

He's not a smaller, old Matthysse or a Broner who is fearful of letting his hands go.

Thurman will make Pacquiao look every bit of his 40 years.

Even that's doubtful. They're likely on the same level. Fighters are more weary of Pacquiao hitting them than Thurman. When's the last time Thurman stopped anyone?

[SenorPipino]

Even that's doubtful. They're likely on the same level. Fighters are more weary of Pacquiao hitting them than Thurman. When's the last time Thurman stopped anyone?

Offhand I can't recall. But he has fought some top caliber guys.

But you do know that Pac ain't knocking too many people dead over the past decade. Just one.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Offhand I can't recall. But he has fought some top caliber guys.

But you do know that Pac ain't knocking too many people dead over the past decade. Just one.

Was the last opponent he stopped Collazo? And that was a RTD.

Only 1 in his last 6. But he has faced and beat Porter and Garcia

[lazboy]

Thurman hasn’t been racking up the KO’s however no ones walking through his shots
, even those of a high level. He certainly doesn’t have ‘one time’ power but that’s not his asset, it’s his all round boxing ability. He uses his brain and He’ll do anything to win and that includes running,

This is the biggest risk Pac has faced since Mayweather and then you have to look back even further for a greater risk and that was Marquez, another complete all rounder who had his number albeit a smaller fighter than Thurman and a better fighter.

This is the most intriguing Pac fight in years and it shocks me. Good on Pac - defeating Broner was a very good scalp at his age in my opinion, this would be something else. No doubt I admire Pac for his choice however I’d be surprised if he won.

[Enlightened-One]

Even though ‘One time’ received a lot of criticism about his performance during his most recent outing, I thought Thurman acquitted himself well against Josesito Lopez, considering his previous injuries and the amount of time he’d been away from the sport.

The WBA’s 147lbs champion could (and perhaps should) have faced an easier opponent to clear the ring rust. And we’ll almost certainly see a better version facing Pacquiao than the man we saw struggling against Lopez.

In stark contrast, the ‘Pac Man’ is at an age where he’s on the decline. He’s going to become increasingly beatable every time he steps foot inside the ring. Keith Thurman will be facing a weaker version of Manny Pacquiao than the iteration we recently saw defeating the likes of Lucas Matthysse and Adrien Broner.

Even though Keith Thurman is ten years younger than Pacquiao and possesses all-round boxing ability, as well as having a high ring IQ, we’ve seen him previously struggle to overcome southpaw opposition, such as Luis Collazo, which means that I expect the Filipino legend to enjoy a certain amount of success during the early stages of their bout.

Unfortunately for Pacquiao though, he’ll eventually succumb to Thurman’s superior conditioning, work-rate and straight right hand. Manny will either accept defeat on the scorecards, by resorting to survival mode in order to last the distance, or alternatively he will keep trying to win the fight, even if it means he has to go out on his shield.

Regardless of Manny’s mindset and effort levels, I just can’t see any way for Pacquiao to avoid defeat and prevent “passing the torch” to Thurman.

[IKSRTFO]

Offhand I can't recall. But he has fought some top caliber guys.

But you do know that Pac ain't knocking too many people dead over the past decade. Just one.

Sure, so both are in the same boat even though Thurman is prime. And I think this long layoff and a soft touch turning into a near loss against Lopez is the clue that Thurman beating Pacquiao isn't clear cut dry. Pacquiao even in his past prime, non KO form is still more dangerous than Josesito Lopez.

[IKSRTFO]

Thurman hasn’t been racking up the KO’s however no ones walking through his shots
, even those of a high level. He certainly doesn’t have ‘one time’ power but that’s not his asset, it’s his all round boxing ability. He uses his brain and He’ll do anything to win and that includes running,

This is the biggest risk Pac has faced since Mayweather and then you have to look back even further for a greater risk and that was Marquez, another complete all rounder who had his number albeit a smaller fighter than Thurman and a better fighter.

This is the most intriguing Pac fight in years and it shocks me. Good on Pac - defeating Broner was a very good scalp at his age in my opinion, this would be something else. No doubt I admire Pac for his choice however I’d be surprised if he won.

Nobody walks through Pacquiao's shots neither.

And I think Bradley was a much better fighter than Thurman could even dream of.

[SenorPipino]

Sure, so both are in the same boat even though Thurman is prime. And I think this long layoff and a soft touch turning into a near loss against Lopez is the clue that Thurman beating Pacquiao isn't clear cut dry. Pacquiao even in his past prime, non KO form is still more dangerous than Josesito Lopez.

Thurman will be alright. He wouldn't have moved immediately from Lopez to Pacquiao if he didn't feel that his first fight in 2 years stripped away plenty rust.

I don't consider the Lopez fight a near loss. He encountered adversity in the 7th round. He's dealt with it before. Usually from body shots. But he always comes through.

Other than that 1 round, Thurman pretty much dominated Lopez. He didn't sparkle but didn't figure to after his lengthy injury hiatus.

If he's 80%+ the fighter who beat Garcia and Spence, Thurman will push aside Pacquiao.

I still remember how unheralded and green Jeff Horn mauled Pacquiao and busted him up.

Even a slightly diminished Thurman can do the same and much more.