Manny Pacquiao is not really known as someone who throws shade or talks trash. However, with his upcoming bout with Keith Thurman, the former eight-division world champion has had enough. In a recent interview, Pacquiao said that he does not consider Thurman as his main opponent. Pacquiao said that his only opponent is himself.
Following his training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood over the weekend, Pacquiao said in Filipino, "Ang kalaban ni Manny Pacquiao ay 'yung sarili lang nya (Manny Pacquiao's opponent is only himself)."
Pacquiao is not really throwing shade at his opponent. Instead, what he means is that the outcome of the upcoming bout will depend mostly on his training. One of Pacquiao's boxing philosophy is that if you trained hard, the fight will come out easy.
Pacquiao's fight is scheduled on July 20. However, his coaching staff already declared him fit to fight last week. That simply shows just how intense and complete Pacquiao's training has been. Pacquiao has said a number of times that he is ready to fight Thurman at any given time. In fact, he iterated that he is already growing impatient by waiting. One of the reasons his camp said why Pacquiao's training was completed way ahead of his opponents is that they started early.
Pacquiao said, "We trained as early as May. Then one month we ran at Griffith Park. It was a long run, we circled the mountain."
Thurman has played the character of a villain since the promotion of their fight started. He has hurled insults after insults to Pacquiao on several occasions. When asked about how he feels about it, Pacquiao has this to say, "Ang ilog na mababaw, maingay 'yan eh (Shallow waters are noisy)."
While some might say that Thurman's trash talks are widely inappropriate, he does have the record to back it up. He has a perfect record of 29-0, with 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout. Pacquiao does have an interesting record, but not an unblemished one.
As for the comparison, many stated that while Thurman has the perfect record and youth, experience is on the side of Pacquiao. The veteran boxer has fought for a total of 70 fights. Pacquiao has had his fair share of opponents that were undefeated until they faced him.
The Pacquiao vs. Thurman fight is scheduled on July 20 and will be at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.
