Top Rank boss Bob Arum has aired his views on the upcoming Keith Thurman versus Manny Pacquiao bout.
Pacquiao 61-7-2 (39) will challenge WBA welterweight champion Thurman 29-0 (22) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 20.
The popular Filipino southpaw was the prized star of the Top Rank stable for a dozen years after signing with Arum?s company while still a super featherweight in 2006.
During his tenure with Top Rank, Pacquiao would win versions of world titles right up to junior middleweight.
But Arum has revealed he doesn?t give Pacquiao much of a chance to beat the 30-year-old Thurman.
?Manny Pacquiao is 40-years-old, and when you get to that age, you?re not the same fighter as you were 30-years-old, early 30s or mid-30s,? Arum said to J Calderon Boxing Talk.
?Pacquiao, he fought so many fights for us [Top Rank Boxing]; he?s always been a gutty guy, but he?s not the biggest guy in the world.
?I think Thurman is going to benefit from the fight that he had [against Josesito Lopez on January 26]. He was off two years. He didn?t look too good with Lopez, but I think he?s much better than that. If Thurman fights the way he had been, then I don?t think Pacquiao will have much of a chance.
?We don?t know if Thurman can ever recapture what he had before the two-year layoff.?
Arum was also asked if he thought the mooted welterweight bout between Mikey Garcia and Danny Garcia was worthy of pay-per-view.
?It?s an interesting fight, but it certainly isn?t,? he said. ?Mikey Garcia is not a welterweight. Well, maybe [Errol] Spence is so much better, but Mikey Garcia is an excellent fighter. I really don?t think he should go passed 140. Remember, he started out as a featherweight.?
