Comments Thread For: Thurman Part of Porter-Ugas Telecast For FOX; Wants Winner

[Scipio2009]

I think Manny's behind an 8ball with options. Manny isn't in the drivers seat with PBC. Haymon likely paid off or is insuring Manny is getting paid to make payments on his IRS debt.

He's gonna take the best option out there & thats gonna be the guy who wins a PPV in a week & a half not the guy making Josesito Lopez look good.

Don't make no sense to not fight the other PPV winner in your weight division.

The payoff is bigger on a Pacquiao-Spence fight for the WBC/WBA/IBF titles in a little while than it is likely to be for Spence-Pacquiao for the IBF title next (Spence Jr isn't going to bother with that regular belt nonsense).

Thurman gives Pacquiao a shot at a real world title, against a spry and fit young fighter to stake his claim to still being the best 147lber (even though Thurman isn't quite sharp just yet, but don't tell anyone).

Haymon has been fair with Pacquiao, but he's not a sucker

[NC Uppercut]

Keef will be a great analysis during the fight...specially early plans to set traps and time certain shots. Aiet

[Eff Pandas]

The payoff is bigger on a Pacquiao-Spence fight for the WBC/WBA/IBF titles in a little while than it is likely to be for Spence-Pacquiao for the IBF title next (Spence Jr isn't going to bother with that regular belt nonsense).

Thurman gives Pacquiao a shot at a real world title, against a spry and fit young fighter to stake his claim to still being the best 147lber (even though Thurman isn't quite sharp just yet, but don't tell anyone).

Haymon has been fair with Pacquiao, but he's not a sucker

There's no telling that Manny beats Thurman. Granted I'm favoring Manny right now, but Thurman from 2yrs ago beats Manny. And we just saw Fury from 3 years ago make a reappearance vs Wilder (or close to that guy anyway) so idk that old Thurman can't return to.

And then maybe Thurman don't fight for a year cuz he gots a boo boo & all that heat he got from a Manny W is lost. Spence is the potential future of boxing guy for PBC not Thurman anymore.

You let Spence get that Manny bounce now so he's the guy to fight before he's 32 or some sh^t. Spence's assent to the top has been to slow as is with Thurman's bs & Porter not wanting the fight soon enough. All those guys ARE gonna get it, but if Haymon is as smart as I think Spence vs Manny is next. The Manny bounce is bigger than some corrupt title belts being unified.

If they don't steer the boat that way then Spence is losing more time on chasing greatness. And he's maybe the PBC guy with the biggest upside right now & he's burning daylight on the time he could be commanding more eyes, time & money coming his & PBC's way.

[Scipio2009]

There's no telling that Manny beats Thurman. Granted I'm favoring Manny right now, but Thurman from 2yrs ago beats Manny. And we just saw Fury from 3 years ago make a reappearance vs Wilder (or close to that guy anyway) so idk that old Thurman can't return to.

And then maybe Thurman don't fight for a year cuz he gots a boo boo & all that heat he got from a Manny W is lost. Spence is the potential future of boxing guy for PBC not Thurman anymore.

You let Spence get that Manny bounce now so he's the guy to fight before he's 32 or some sh^t. Spence's assent to the top has been to slow as is with Thurman's bs & Porter not wanting the fight soon enough. All those guys ARE gonna get it, but if Haymon is as smart as I think Spence vs Manny is next. The Manny bounce is bigger than some corrupt title belts being unified.

If they don't steer the boat that way then Spence is losing more time on chasing greatness. And he's maybe the PBC guy with the biggest upside right now & he's burning daylight on the time he could be commanding more eyes, time & money coming his & PBC's way.

I disagree. If Spence is going to use a Pacquiao-Spence fight to launch you've got to make sure that the Pacquiao name means what it should mean.

Pacquiao-Broner did 400k PPV buys without Pacquiao really hurting Broner in a big way.

It's of course a risk, but if Pacquiao can beat Thurman for the WBA title (especially this less sharp Thurman), the audience can jump back on the Pacquiao bandwagon.

Spence throttles Pacquiao now, and he beat the old Pacquiao who fought ok against underachiever Broner.

Guess I see it different

[Eff Pandas]

I disagree. If Spence is going to use a Pacquiao-Spence fight to launch you've got to make sure that the Pacquiao name means what it should mean.

Pacquiao-Broner did 400k PPV buys without Pacquiao really hurting Broner in a big way.

It's of course a risk, but if Pacquiao can beat Thurman for the WBA title (especially this less sharp Thurman), the audience can jump back on the Pacquiao bandwagon.

Spence throttles Pacquiao now, and he beat the old Pacquiao who fought ok against underachiever Broner.

Guess I see it different

Spence beats Manny regardless I agree. But putting Manny in with Spence next increases the likelihood of a superfight with Thurman for all the PBC WW belts.

I'm telling you Spence is the guy they need to be boosting right now & thats via having a P4P guy W next week & a HOFer in the summer.

Manny is gonna lose any time now. Thurman doesnt seem THAT serious. And Porter is limited for a top tier guy. Investing in Spence is the clear move by a mile here.

[Scipio2009]

Spence beats Manny regardless I agree. But putting Manny in with Spence next increases the likelihood of a superfight with Thurman for all the PBC WW belts.

I'm telling you Spence is the guy they need to be boosting right now & thats via having a P4P guy W next week & a HOFer in the summer.

Manny is gonna lose any time now. Thurman doesnt seem THAT serious. And Porter is limited for a top tier guy. Investing in Spence is the clear move by a mile here.

I think we agree that Spence is the potential superstar. We just disagree about the order of operations.

SpenceJr making his third title defense at AT&T Stadium, picking up the WBC title at Barclays (against Porter or Ugas), and then getting the WBA title with T-Mobile Arena (against Pacquiao or Thurman) sets him up for stardom better, imo.

If Pacquiao loses, he loses; the audience that's still with him isn't going to leave him (unless he gets Marquez'd again; then folks will plead for him to retire).

[Eff Pandas]

I think we agree that Spence is the potential superstar. We just disagree about the order of operations.

SpenceJr making his third title defense at AT&T Stadium, picking up the WBC title at Barclays (against Porter or Ugas), and then getting the WBA title with T-Mobile Arena (against Pacquiao or Thurman) sets him up for stardom better, imo.

Your putting more value on the belt over the name. Manny, recent L's n all, has more value then the WBC belt. I think thats the main thing we are disagreeing on.

Casuals give no f#cks about belts. They know belts are bs these days & the casual fans are needed to make Spence a bigger name/draw. Hence Spence vs Pacquiao is the move.

Thurman vs Spence makes all the sense in the world as the final fight to decide who's the man at WW (on the PBC side of the street anyway), but with Thurman's recent form, hurt for damn near 2 yrs & not looking good vs a fringe contender, shouldn't be inspiring confidence he's beating ANYONE who's a legit top 5 guy. So if Thurman loses pre-Spence ideally you want him to lose to Porter (who I think is beating Ugas tomorrow) who's a cemented PBC guy vs Manny who could be with DAZN or back with TR after a few more fights.

If Pacquiao loses, he loses; the audience that's still with him isn't going to leave him (unless he gets Marquez'd again; then folks will plead for him to retire).

You wanna use Manny's appeal wisely. Whoever beats him is getting a bounce in popularity & likely hater fans who'll follow that guy who beats Manny for years hoping to see him catch an L & there money is as good as the fanboys money. And who is that appeal better spent towards the guy who's been deemed the next superstar of boxing still uncrowned or the guy who hasn't fought for 2 years cuz he got married & his his elbow or w/e & hasn't been very inspiring as a champion as he was as a contender? I'm going for the former & so will the PBC powers that be if their smart.


Agree to disagree doe, but with Thurman saying he wants the Porter vs Ugas winner next to get his belt back & the fact Manny will be in attendance for Spence vs Garcia I think PBC is already trying to make the path I'm suggesting line up for later this year with the winners (most likely Spence & Thurman) fight in 2020.

[Scipio2009]

Your putting more value on the belt over the name. Manny, recent L's n all, has more value then the WBC belt. I think thats the main thing we are disagreeing on.

Casuals give no f#cks about belts. They know belts are bs these days & the casual fans are needed to make Spence a bigger name/draw. Hence Spence vs Pacquiao is the move.

Thurman vs Spence makes all the sense in the world as the final fight to decide who's the man at WW (on the PBC side of the street anyway), but with Thurman's recent form, hurt for damn near 2 yrs & not looking good vs a fringe contender, shouldn't be inspiring confidence he's beating ANYONE who's a legit top 5 guy. So if Thurman loses pre-Spence ideally you want him to lose to Porter (who I think is beating Ugas tomorrow) who's a cemented PBC guy vs Manny who could be with DAZN or back with TR after a few more fights.



You wanna use Manny's appeal wisely. Whoever beats him is getting a bounce in popularity & likely hater fans who'll follow that guy who beats Manny for years hoping to see him catch an L & there money is as good as the fanboys money. And who is that appeal better spent towards the guy who's been deemed the next superstar of boxing still uncrowned or the guy who hasn't fought for 2 years cuz he got married & his his elbow or w/e & hasn't been very inspiring as a champion as he was as a contender? I'm going for the former & so will the PBC powers that be if their smart.


Agree to disagree doe, but with Thurman saying he wants the Porter vs Ugas winner next to get his belt back & the fact Manny will be in attendance for Spence vs Garcia I think PBC is already trying to make the path I'm suggesting line up for later this year with the winners (most likely Spence & Thurman) fight in 2020.

I think Pacquiao's in attendance because 1) the fight is at AT&T Stadium and 2) there's a chance that Mikey could hit the draw and win the fight.

Imo, the belts do have value over the names, but the fights do too; if given the choice, with the money allegedly being the same, I don't see Pacquiao, left with the options of Thurman or Spence, choosing to fight Spence first.

Anyway, I'll enjoy the fights as they come

[Eff Pandas]

I think Pacquiao's in attendance because 1) the fight is at AT&T Stadium and 2) there's a chance that Mikey could hit the draw and win the fight.

Imo, the belts do have value over the names, but the fights do too; if given the choice, with the money allegedly being the same, I don't see Pacquiao, left with the options of Thurman or Spence, choosing to fight Spence first.

Anyway, I'll enjoy the fights as they come

I think you're undervaluing what the casual fans care about then if you think they'd rather see Spence fight for another belt vs Porter instead of Manny. If PBC is trying to make a PPV star outta Spence Manny in the summer is the move.

And I doubt Manny is being given much wiggle room here too. I think Manny is easily manipulated towards any fight you'd prefer him to take right now with his money issues. From the sounds of it him signing with PBC is as much to cash out with a Floyd fight as it is to grow Manny's promotion so Manny's goals stretch well beyond his own career now. How true that is is up for debate, but if you take him at his word he's thinking about his post-boxing life more than I've ever heard him speak before.

Funny you mention Mikey winning doe cuz I actually suspect Mikey winning could have all sorts of surprise outcomes. Namely TR offering him a respectable offer finally for a fight with Bud. I've been surprised by some of the recent acquisitions by TR & I think it might be naive to underrate them right now with pulling some more rabbits out of their hat. But mostly I just think it could get interesting if Mikey beats Spence next week. Mikey vs Manny would still be the fight I'd most expect to see next if he does win, but I think TR has more upset potential to steer Mikey away from PBC fights then most might agree with me on.

[Scipio2009]

I think you're undervaluing what the casual fans care about then if you think they'd rather see Spence fight for another belt vs Porter instead of Manny. If PBC is trying to make a PPV star outta Spence Manny in the summer is the move.

And I doubt Manny is being given much wiggle room here too. I think Manny is easily manipulated towards any fight you'd prefer him to take right now with his money issues. From the sounds of it him signing with PBC is as much to cash out with a Floyd fight as it is to grow Manny's promotion so Manny's goals stretch well beyond his own career now. How true that is is up for debate, but if you take him at his word he's thinking about his post-boxing life more than I've ever heard him speak before.

Funny you mention Mikey winning doe cuz I actually suspect Mikey winning could have all sorts of surprise outcomes. Namely TR offering him a respectable offer finally for a fight with Bud. I've been surprised by some of the recent acquisitions by TR & I think it might be naive to underrate them right now with pulling some more rabbits out of their hat. But mostly I just think it could get interesting if Mikey beats Spence next week. Mikey vs Manny would still be the fight I'd most expect to see next if he does win, but I think TR has more upset potential to steer Mikey away from PBC fights then most might agree with me on.

Icing out Mikey for 2 years is going to need a pretty darn ridiculous offer to overcome that, tbh; respectable won't cut it (Just insinuating here, but I'm figuring that UFC delivering for ESPN/ESPN+, while Top Rank isn't so much has led Arum to turn the smoke/mirrors way up to save his deal).

One more weekend and we'd know the options on the table; Pacquiao vs Thurman, Porter, or Spence-Garcia winner.

No other fight is basically on offer to Pacquiao (Floyd isn't coming back), but his options list has more than one fighter on it. Time will tell