As recently reported on BoxingScene.com, eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman will fight for World Boxing Association welterweight supremacy on July 20.
Pacquiao, 40, is coming off a January victory over Adrien Broner that took his record to 61-7-2 with 39 knockouts.
He holds the WBA's secondary "world" welterweight title.
In Thurman, he'll be taking on the WBA's "super world champion" in the division.
"In the biggest night of boxing this year, boxing's only eight-division world champion, Senator Manny 'Pac Man' Pacquiao, will take on undefeated WBA Welterweight World Champion Keith 'One Time' Thurman on Saturday, July 20 in a blockbuster showdown that headlines a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event," promoters said in a statement.
Pacquiao, who last month polled his legion of social media followers on who he should fight next, took to Twitter to let them know the bout was coming.
"#TeamPacquiao is back. July 20 l #PacThurman," he tweeted.
Thurman returned from a near two-year layoff to retain his title with a 12-round majority decision over Josesito Lopez on January 26.
The victory saw Thurman improve to 29-0 with 22 wins inside the distance and in the immediate aftermath he said he'd be ready to take on Pacquiao this year.
"Maybe Brooklyn, maybe Vegas, wherever Manny Pacquiao wants it," Thurman said. "I'd even fight him in the Philippines if I have to."
Thurman had been idle since edging Danny Garcia by split decision in March of 2017 to unify two 147-pound titles.
The next month he had surgery to remove calcium deposits from his right elbow, and as he was readying to return to the ring he suffered a left hand injury in March of 2018 that forced him to take more time off.
On January 20, Pacquiao dominated Broner in a lopsided bout in Las Vegas, winning easily with an impressive display of superior hand speed and destructive power that landed him the unanimous decision over the much younger boxer at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"I really don't believe my career is over. I proved it in my last fight against (Lucas) Matthysee," Pacquiao said after that fight. "And now I prove it again at the age of 40."
A loss would risk the future of each boxer.
At his advanced age, Pacquiao's career could be over in defeat. And Thurman, who looked lackluster in his last fight, can not afford a loss at this point in his career - especially a fighter, although great, in the twilight of his career.
