WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman feels a bit disrespected by the experts, as his upcoming opponent, Manny Pacquiao, is now the betting favorite in their anticipated clash.
Thurman will defend his belt against Pacquiao, the WBA’s secondary beltholder, on July 20th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“This is my fight. He’s fighting for my belt. And yet, it’s as if the world has forgot. So I wanted to … stab him a little bit, hit him where it hurts,” Thurman said on PBC’s Face to Face. “He’s fighting for my belt…it’s as if the world has forgot.”
A lot of the talk has been centered on Pacquiao’s age.
The boxer is now 40-years-old and is coming off a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision win over four division champion Adrien Broner from back in January.
Pacquiao has won a record eight divisional belts in the sport, but Thurman believes the furture Hall of Famer is finished as a top fighter and he aims to prove that point when they meet in the ring.
“I just believe the hourglass is almost finished,” Thurman said. “He doesn’t have much left. Go play basketball, Manny! You say you like to play basketball every day. Go shoot hoops with the guys, man!”
“I’ve watched Manny for many years, this is the first time truly being face to face. I’m trying to look for some grey hair, I don’t really see much. He don’t look too aged, he’s got that Asian blood in him, he still looks like he’s 15 years old. But does he move like he’s 15? After he gets punched, is he going to be able to recover like the young fighter?
“He said I felt good [after the Adrien Broner fight], In my head at home I said, ‘He felt good because he didn’t get punched in the face, he felt good because he didn’t get punched in the body’. How good is he gonna feel after 12 rounds of boxing with your man right here, Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman?”
–boxingscene
