Manny Pacquiao aims to surpass his performance against Keith Thurman when he tangles with Errol Spence on August 21.

“I’m trying my best to make it better than the Thurman fight,” Pacquiao said, referring to his split decision victory over the erstwhile unbeaten American on July 20, 2019.

To achieve this goal, Pacquiao told Lyn Olavario of TV5 that he needs to improve further his conditioning and speed.

“I want to become a little bit smaller (for the fight) to gain more speed.”

Pacquiao, who holds a 67-7-2 record with 39 knockouts, will be challenging the unscathed Spence (27-0, 21 knockouts) for the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight crowns while staking his soon-to-be-returned World Boxing Association belt at either the MGM Grand or the 70-seater Allegiant Stadium, both in Las Vegas.

Since the 5-foot-9 1/2 Spence towers over him by 4 inches with a 5-inch edge in reach, Pacquiao intends to use his speed and power to overcome the odds and topple the New Yorker from the pound-for-pound list.

Pacquiao isn’t bothered by the underdog tag, saying it’s to be expected as he hasn’t fought since stunning Thurman. The eight-division world champion, however, believes the odds will still change as fight night nears.

According to Pacquiao, being away from the ring for nearly two years actually did him more good than harm.

“It gave my body time to fully recover,” said Pacquiao, who has been boxing since he was 12 years old.

Furthermore, the long layoff made Pacquiao miss the sport so much he felt like he was starting all over again.

No wonder, Pacquiao was in high spirits as he ramped up preparations for Spence on Thursday with trainer Buboy Fernandez.

After jogging at dawn, Pacquiao did the mitts with Fernandez, shadow-boxed, pounded the heavy bags and speedball, before cooling down with abdominal exercises.

Knowing the Spence fight will determine whether he will continue to box or call it quits, Pacquiao promised to be in optimum form.

Pacquiao wants to embellish his ring legacy further. – Rappler.com