Obviously buoyed by the odds that favor him to win, Keith Thurman is saying he'll score a knockout win against boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Dripping with confidence, the American fighter declared the Pacman is going down early, either in the first or second round.
Thurman and Pacquiao are slugging it out on July 20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It will be a 12-round duel but according to Thurman, who remains undefeated, the fight will be over before round three, and he's betting good money on that claim.
According to TMZ Sports, Thurman is betting $10,000 as a motivation to finish off the match the way he predicted it. He is convinced his 40-year-old opponent will be unable to keep up with the Thurman core game of speed and violence.
"I'm younger. I'm gonna let my hands go in a way that Adrian Broner didn't ... I'm gonna make it a fight," Thurman said.
The boxer was referring to Pacquiao's last fight in which he dominated Broner. Thurman said Broner faced the Pacman last January without a fight plan. The loser showed no aggression hence the result, he added.
Yet while the odds are stacking in favor of the U.S. native, it seems boxing veterans are rallying behind Pacquiao and among them is a Mexican fighter that the Filipino has beaten before. Erik Morales is in disagreement that his former nemesis will go down that easy as forecasted by Thurman and bettors.
There is a chance the fighting legislator from the Philippines will pull off a win, perhaps even score a knockout late in the game. Morales said Pacquiao will be deliberate in engaging Thurman and go the stretch. Should the KO win failed to materialize, the Pacman will edge out his foe by points.
It is experience that will win the game for Pacquiao, Morales said, and per the report by World Boxing News. In the same story, Amir Khan, who likely will be the next to fight Pacquiao, shared his view of an easy win for the Filipino.
And Pacquiao winning might just be the outcome in a fight preceded by Thurman's usual trash talk and display of hubris. According to Forbes, being viewed as the underdog may just be the motivation that the multi-division champ needs to defeat the proud Thurman.
It's not the first time Pacquiao played the underdog and he got through with mixed results. When he faced Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in May 2015, he was outclassed and outpointed. In an earlier showdown with Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008, Pacquiao had emerged the victor despite fighting against an extremely popular opponent. He might just do the same this coming July even as Thurman is tipped to win.
