Manny Pacquiao came out victorious over a tough fight with Keith Thurman for the WBA super world welterweight title. It was a split decision win, and apparently, recent statistics show the Filipino boxer absorbed more punches than he landed.
Based on the punch stats released by Compubox, Pacquiao threw in fewer punches than Thurman -- 210-195. However, the boxing champion, who's bent on proving he's not slowing down at 40, was still the more effective of the two and landed the harder hits.
In the first round, Thurman was knocked down by Pacquiao using his right hand, proof that despite using his non-dominant hand, Pacman still has a lot of power.
Pacman also came out the busier fighter compared to Thurman, who had 57 thrown per round to the American's 48. The 40-year-old also delivered a liver blow in the 10th round that almost stopped the fight.
Despite being defeated, Thurman did back up all the trash talking and threw in all he could deliver. He made history with the number of punches he landed. According to Compubox, Thurman gave Pacquiao 192 punches all in all, which is the most punches landed of any of the Filipino's opponents in all the fights tracked by Compubox.
"It was fun," Pacquiao said when asked about the fight. "My opponent is a good fighter and boxer. He was strong. I'm not that kind of boxer who talks a lot; we were just promoting the fight. I think he did his best, and I did my best. I think we made the fans happy tonight because it was a good fight."
The crowd of nearly 15,000 got treated to an intense introduction after Pacquiao dropped Thurman in the first round. It was the American boxer's first downfall in his career.
The fighters gave the audience 12 solid rounds, which ended in a split decision. One judge gave Thurman 114-113, overruled by two judges who gave Pacquiao 115-112. At 40 years old, Pacquiao secured the WBA Welterweight World Championship.
After the fight, Thurman was quoted saying: "You get blessings and lessons. Tonight was a blessing and a lesson. Thank you everybody, and thank you, Manny Pacquiao."
When asked about his future plans, Pacquiao expressed his desire to fight in 2020, adding he hopes to be at the (Errol) Spence vs. (Shawn) Porter fight on September 28. As for his next target opponent, the senator said he'll have to go home to the Philippines first to come up with a decision.
