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PACQUIAO IS READY FOR THURMAN By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Sat, 29 Jun 2019  Pacquiao ready to kick Thurman out ala Bruce Lee. With less than a month before the scheduled July 20 WBA "super" welterweight championship between super champion Keith Thurman and regular champion Manny Pacquiao, the senator's team had an evaluation of his readiness to face one of toughest opponents in his storied career. "Based on our assessment, our fighting senator is now at 90% condition,? Buboy Fernandez, Pacquiao?s trainer, told Steve Angeles of ABS-CBN?s Balitang America. * * * ?I?m OK, nothing to worry about,? Pacquiao told ABS CBN Sports regarding his exhaustive training camp with conditioning coach Justine Fortune and head trainer Freddie Roach. The 40-year old Pacquiao started his training regimen in Manila and resumed his intensive preparations at the world famous Wild Card Boxing Gym in California, when he arrived there last June 16. * * * ?He?s good, he?s doing proper now, he?s training himself right, he?s slowing down when he needs to,? Fortune told ABS CBN Sports. ?We?ve been fighting a lot smarter, and training a lot smarter than before." Fortune is all positive Pacquiao can stop Thurman. " He knocks out this guy, he?ll do a fourth in December then he becomes Fighter of the Year again.? * * * The Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Decade and three-time Fighter of the Year, Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) is the only sitting Congressman and Senator to win a world boxing title. Pacquiao's legendary career includes victories over present and future boxing Hall of Famers, which include Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez. * * * 
Pacquiao with his team and supports jogging at Griffith Park in Los Angeles Friday. Photo by Wendell Alinea. Possessing magnificent speed, power and boxing skills, Thurman is considered the most dangerous opponent that Pacquiao will face in recent fights. The 30-year-old Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs) reigned as welterweight champion since 2013 when he stopped Diego Chaves for the WBA title. He has then successfully defended his belt eight times and won the unified welterweight title when he defeated WBC champ Danny Garcia by split decision. His tremendous power punching earned him the alias "One Time.'' * * * ?It?s an exciting time,? declared Thurman. ?Two years ago I was inactive, 28 years old and watching two years of my prime go by with nothing to show for it. Now that I?m back, the guys who are fighting each other (Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia), I beat those guys already." Now he will be facing a former number one pound-for-pound fighter of the world." There are only a select few at the top who I haven?t faced. Manny Pacquiao is one of these fighters and is the highest value (at welterweight) .? * * * The Golden State Warriors are determined to bring back one of the Splash Brothers who is going to enter the free agency on Sunday. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Warriors plan to offer the sharp shooting Klay Thompson a five-year, $190 million contract. Wojnarowski also stated that Thompson is "likely going to accept the offer fairly quickly." * * * Thompson played all eight years of his NBA career with the Golden Warriors, who drafted him in the first round in 2011. He has played in five consecutive All-Star Games and won three championships with Golden State. Thompson tored his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and will miss games for 9-10 months and that his rehabilitation could extend possibly until February or March when the next regular season is almost over. * * * Kevin Durant will officially become an unrestricted free agent on June 30. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Durant has decided to opt out of his 2019-20 contract with the Golden State Warriors to become a free agent. The option was worth $31.5 million for the next season. The 2014 NBA MVP suffered an Achilles injury during Game 5 of the NBA Finals that will likely sideline him for the rest of the upcoming 2019-2020 season. * * * Durant could still re-sign with the Warriors for the max salary for five years worth $221 million. Several NBA teams still would give the reigning two-time NBA Finals MVP a four-year max contract worth about $164 million despite his agony. Other teams interested in signing Durant are the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. The 30-year-old was unstoppable in the regular season, averaging 26.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists. His streak was cut off in the playoffs because of a series of injuries. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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