Pacquiao won’t be super champ, says Thurman

LAS VEGAS, USA – Swing, swing, swing. Night, night.

These were key words Keith Thurman directed at Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday, July 18.

The unbeaten champion intends to bring the fight to Pacquiao early on, hoping to spring up a quick knockout in their World Boxing Association welterweight crown showdown on Saturday, July 20 (Sunday July 21, Philippine time).

But if he finds out Pacquiao is too fast and if he gets hit, Thurman won’t hesitate switching stance to probe for other ways to trounce the eight-division world champion, force him into retirement and create his own legacy.

And according to Thurman, he has at least 3 ways with which to stop the Pacquiao tour.

Thurman wants to impose his natural size advantage by fighting big, taking a clue from the way Australian Jeff Horn roughhoused Pacquiao in Brisbane in 2017 en route to a unanimous decision.

If this ploy fails, Thurman hinted he could combine the counterpunching strategies applied by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 and Floyd Mayweather in 2015 to derail Pacquiao’s career, which is now on a resurgent state.

Thurman said he wants to trade punches with Pacquiao in the first 4 rounds to feel his power, do the adjustments from 5th to 8th, and weigh his options from 9th to 12th.

“Do I need to move more? Can I do less?”  said Thurman, who relishes the idea of laying his hands on a legend and a senator at the same time.

Having had a terrific training camp in Florida, Thurman said he plans to outbox Pacquiao in the middle of the ring, circle around him and unload punches.

In the end, Thurman sounded certain he would still be the 147-pound king.

“He won’t be a super champ,” he said, noting that “Pacquiao is staring down my title.” – Rappler.com