News over the weekend that Manny Pacquiao will be squaring off against Keith Thurman on July 20 is getting fight fans and analysts buzzing with excitement. And I am not surprised.
Pacquiao, the World Boxing Association (WBA) ?super world champion? welterweight (147 pounds) is strangely taking on the ?regular? WBA champion for the division in Thurman. The stakes are high for both fighters as the winner would be assured of more lucrative fights with the loser taking to the sidelines to recover. However, a loss by Pacquiao could result in his retirement from the fight game.
I went over whatever analysis I could come across from social media on the Pacquiao-Thurman fight and from what I have seen, Pacquiao is not expected to be bamboozled by the younger and bigger Thurman. Many fight observers even use Pacquiao?s recent performance against Adrien Broner as their gauge on why the Filipino would emerge victorious on July 20.
Also, Thurman looked a little bit rusty in beating Josesito Lopez on January 26, his first bout after a two-year lay off.
So who wins on July 26?
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Honestly, if a sentimental favorite goes into the ring against a younger fighter who is already a world champion, it is very hard to go by hard facts. And in boxing, anything can happen.
When taking on hard facts, it is hard to ignore that Thurman remains undefeated at 29-0 with 22 knockouts and has taken on a few prominent names like Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and Diego Gabriel Chaves. And since he is the younger fighter at 30, he is expected to have more stamina that is very important when the fight goes to the ?championship? or the last rounds.
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But Pacquiao also brings into the ring envious credentials worthy for a future Hall of Famer, like winning titles in eight divisions and being one of the top pay-per-view draws in boxing?s modern era.
The Filipino is also a southpaw, which might present some problems for Thurman although the American did not have problems in knocking down and decisioning left-hander Robert Guerrero in March 2015.
Also, it looks like Pacquiao has the faster hands.
While we can enumerate some factors that could make Pacquiao the winner on July 20, I must state this ? we must never underestimate Thurman.
For one, Thurman may have the edge in punching power. And Thurman is notches above Broner and Lucas Matthysse, who Pacquiao stopped in July 2015.
So we should not expect Thurman to suffer the fate of Broner and Matthysse. Broner obviously did not have the punching power to keep Pacquiao at bay, much less beat him. On the other hand, Matthysse was never known to possess fast hands.
Also, just look at how good Thurman was going up against Garcia and Porter.
As the fight nears, it would be interesting to hear what other fight analysts and brains of the game have to say.
But I have this to say again ? let us not underestimate Thurman.
