LAS VEGAS – Keith Thurman is guaranteed to earn a $2.5 million purse when he squares off against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here in the heart of Sin City.
Including his share of the pay-per-view, which is sold at $74.99 a unit, the unbeaten American (29-0 with 22 KOs) could possibly earn up to $8 million, according to Forbes.
It’s easily the biggest take-home pay in Thurman’s career, which is why he can afford to wager three bets on himself at $10,000 a pop.
“We’re going for the first-round knockout, second-round knockout, and then lucky seven-round knockout,” he told Boxingscene.com.
If Thurman can somehow wipe out Pacquiao in the first or second round, his $10,000 bet will yield a $500,000 profit. A seventh-round stoppage yields a slightly less dividend of $400,000.
But Thurman’s hopes for a bonus jackpot could end up only as lost wages.
Following Friday’s official weigh-in for the WBA welterweight unification bout where both protagonists tipped the scales at 146.5 pounds, the betting odds continue to favor Pacquiao at minus 155 while Thurman is a plus 135 underdog.
“I don’t bet on myself,” Pacquiao said.
He doesn’t have to. He is guaranteed a $10 million purse plus a pay-per-view upside that could balloon his earnings to $20 million. Besides, gambling goes sharply against the grain of the senator’s strong Christian faith.
