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NEW YORK — There was time between 2013 and 2014 when rumors swirled about Keith Thurman possibly getting a crack at Floyd Mayweather Jr., but even the mere thought of a welterweight fight between the two undefeated champions dissipated without the bout ever taking place, much to the irritation of "One Time."
"Well, for me, it was never close because I never saw a contract," Thurman told Sporting News. "There were moments where I kind of knew Floyd was not looking at me as an opponent toward the end of his career.
"One of those moments was when I became the WBA (Regular) champion and he became the [WBA] (Super) champion because the (Super) champion is not required to fight mandatories, so I could not force Floyd Mayweather in any position to step in the ring with me."
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“I just don't think I was on Floyd's to-do list and then I had a few minor setbacks — not the same as the elbow surgery, but some shoulder problems at that time," Thurman added.
Thus, Thurman feels the haunting disappointment of never getting to test his skills against the best boxer of the generation — and arguably ever. Tuesday marked a good boxing karma of sorts.
It was announced at a press conference at Gotham Hall in Manhattan that Thurman will face Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on July 20, live on Fox Sports pay-per-view. Thurman's WBA (Super) welterweight championship will be on the line.
For the 30-year-old Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs), the fight against the 40-year-old Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs), boxing’s only eight-division world champion, represents the fight against Mayweather that never happened.
"At the end of the day, I've had my ups and downs and I've never been able to share the ring with Floyd Mayweather, but I get to share the ring with a legend — Manny Pacquiao," an excited Thurman told SN exclusively in the cellar of Gotham Hall moments after the press conference ended. "Manny Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao fought Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao fought 'Sugar' Shane Mosley, so sharing the ring with Manny Pacquiao is like sharing the ring with all of these legends of the past."
To beat the legend 10 years his senior, Thurman plans on taking a page out of Pacquiao's fight book. Thurman is earmarking Pacquiao making De La Hoya's corner call for a stoppage after the eighth round of their December 2008 clash, which turned out to be the final fight of "The Golden Boy's" career.
"Oscar De La Hoya fought Manny Pacquiao and he never fought again," Thurman said. "He took the fight, he lost the fight and he was done fighting. Manny Pacquiao doesn’t have to fight Keith Thurman — he's taking the fight, he's going to lose the fight and I'm not [going to be] surprised if he retires after."
There are similarities between this fight and the Pacquiao-De La Hoya bout, in that Thurman will enter the clash at age 30, just as Pacquiao did against the then-35-year-old De La Hoya.
The consensus entering that fight was that Pacquiao was in his prime and that if he was truly ready to assume boxing's throne, then he would have to slay the legendary De La Hoya first.
Thurman sees himself in the same position. He says he's honored to be facing a legend like Pacquiao but that it's only right that he should be the one to end the future Hall of Famer’s career. "One Time" not only believes that he can compete with Pacquiao's high punching volume, but also that he can get the job done via something that he hasn't been able to pull off in more than five years — a knockout.
"Come July 20, when I defeat Manny Pacquiao and he goes back to the Philippines to be [a] senator, he can hold his head up high because he has accomplished great things in the sport of boxing, for his family and for his country," Thurman said. "But I truly believe that we're just in a new generation that the time is now. There is no more Floyd and soon there will be no more Pacquiao."
"There is no more Floyd and soon there will be no more Pacquiao.” keithfthurmanjr is ready to put Manny to bed. pic.twitter.com/mHSb6u3yni
— Sporting News Fights (@sn_fights) May 21, 2019
To make good on that promise, Thurman will need a better performance than the one he displayed in January, when he had to overcome a rough seventh round to edge Josesito Lopez by majority decision. Thurman was admittedly not at his best that fight as he was trying to shake off ring rust after a 22-month layoff caused by elbow surgery and a hand injury.
Thurman will look to regain the form he showed in consecutive wins over Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia — the latter of which made him a unified welterweight champion in March 2017.
“We definitely had a lack of activity and a lot of people don’t know in 2019 — who is Keith Thurman today?” he said.
Manny Pacquiao-Keith Thurman
Just getting the Pacquiao fight is a win, considering IBF titleholder Errol Spence Jr. defeated Mikey Garcia in March and invited "Pac Man" into the ring afterward in an attempt to force a fight with the legend. Garcia had also been coveting a shot at Pacquiao.
Thurman believes that getting the fight over the others simply came down to the boxing scheduling gods — his victory over Lopez came exactly one week after Pacquiao's Jan. 19 dismantling of Adrien Broner.
"I was confident the whole time that I was going to get the fight," Thurman said. "I believe the stars were aligned in my favor a little bit more with the fact that Pacquiao fought a week before my fight and that just makes us on the same schedule, basically."
When asked at the press conference why he selected Thurman over Spence and Garcia, Pacquiao offered this: "I choose Keith Thurman because he's undefeated and I want to prove that at the age of 40, I can still beat an undefeated fighter."
That response sounds good, but Spence is undefeated, too, at 25-0 with 21 KOs, so it will lead people to believe that Pacquiao views Thurman as the path of least resistance in comparison to "The Truth."
To that, Thurman said he believes any of the top welterweights would give Pacquiao problems. He just feels honored to be the one selected.
"I said it years ago — Manny Pacquiao will not fare well against any of the young, top fighters today, whether it be Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Errol Spence," he said bluntly. "I just believe it’s time to go."
Pacquiao notoriously doesn’t offer up sound bites during fight promotion, and it appears he will do his talking in the ring this time, too.
"Let’s prove it in the ring July 20," he said.
“I will show you what it’s like to be in the ring with me July 20," he said grimly moments later.
Thurman spoke late last year about facing Spence, Porter or Terence Crawford in 2020 with three titles on the line. With Spence and Porter headed toward a clash, Thurman can do his part in setting up that bout by notching a convincing win over Pacquiao.
The chance to fight Mayweather eluded him the way "Money" weaved and slipped his opponents' punches. An opportunity to add a legendary name to his ring resume is now less than two months away.
Let’s see what "One Time" does with it.
NEW YORK — There was time between 2013 and 2014 when rumors swirled about Keith Thurman possibly getting a crack at Floyd Mayweather Jr., but even the mere thought of a welterweight fight between the two undefeated champions dissipated without the bout ever taking place, much to the irritation of "One Time."
"Well, for me, it was never close because I never saw a contract," Thurman told Sporting News. "There were moments where I kind of knew Floyd was not looking at me as an opponent toward the end of his career.
"One of those moments was when I became the WBA (Regular) champion and he became the [WBA] (Super) champion because the (Super) champion is not required to fight mandatories, so I could not force Floyd Mayweather in any position to step in the ring with me."
Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year
“I just don't think I was on Floyd's to-do list and then I had a few minor setbacks — not the same as the elbow surgery, but some shoulder problems at that time," Thurman added.
Thus, Thurman feels the haunting disappointment of never getting to test his skills against the best boxer of the generation — and arguably ever. Tuesday marked a good boxing karma of sorts.
It was announced at a press conference at Gotham Hall in Manhattan that Thurman will face Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on July 20, live on Fox Sports pay-per-view. Thurman's WBA (Super) welterweight championship will be on the line.
For the 30-year-old Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs), the fight against the 40-year-old Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs), boxing’s only eight-division world champion, represents the fight against Mayweather that never happened.
"At the end of the day, I've had my ups and downs and I've never been able to share the ring with Floyd Mayweather, but I get to share the ring with a legend — Manny Pacquiao," an excited Thurman told SN exclusively in the cellar of Gotham Hall moments after the press conference ended. "Manny Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao fought Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao fought 'Sugar' Shane Mosley, so sharing the ring with Manny Pacquiao is like sharing the ring with all of these legends of the past."
To beat the legend 10 years his senior, Thurman plans on taking a page out of Pacquiao's fight book. Thurman is earmarking Pacquiao making De La Hoya's corner call for a stoppage after the eighth round of their December 2008 clash, which turned out to be the final fight of "The Golden Boy's" career.
"Oscar De La Hoya fought Manny Pacquiao and he never fought again," Thurman said. "He took the fight, he lost the fight and he was done fighting. Manny Pacquiao doesn’t have to fight Keith Thurman — he's taking the fight, he's going to lose the fight and I'm not [going to be] surprised if he retires after."
There are similarities between this fight and the Pacquiao-De La Hoya bout, in that Thurman will enter the clash at age 30, just as Pacquiao did against the then-35-year-old De La Hoya.
The consensus entering that fight was that Pacquiao was in his prime and that if he was truly ready to assume boxing's throne, then he would have to slay the legendary De La Hoya first.
Thurman sees himself in the same position. He says he's honored to be facing a legend like Pacquiao but that it's only right that he should be the one to end the future Hall of Famer’s career. "One Time" not only believes that he can compete with Pacquiao's high punching volume, but also that he can get the job done via something that he hasn't been able to pull off in more than five years — a knockout.
"Come July 20, when I defeat Manny Pacquiao and he goes back to the Philippines to be [a] senator, he can hold his head up high because he has accomplished great things in the sport of boxing, for his family and for his country," Thurman said. "But I truly believe that we're just in a new generation that the time is now. There is no more Floyd and soon there will be no more Pacquiao."
"There is no more Floyd and soon there will be no more Pacquiao.” keithfthurmanjr is ready to put Manny to bed. pic.twitter.com/mHSb6u3yni
— Sporting News Fights (@sn_fights) May 21, 2019
To make good on that promise, Thurman will need a better performance than the one he displayed in January, when he had to overcome a rough seventh round to edge Josesito Lopez by majority decision. Thurman was admittedly not at his best that fight as he was trying to shake off ring rust after a 22-month layoff caused by elbow surgery and a hand injury.
Thurman will look to regain the form he showed in consecutive wins over Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia — the latter of which made him a unified welterweight champion in March 2017.
“We definitely had a lack of activity and a lot of people don’t know in 2019 — who is Keith Thurman today?” he said.
Manny Pacquiao-Keith Thurman
Just getting the Pacquiao fight is a win, considering IBF titleholder Errol Spence Jr. defeated Mikey Garcia in March and invited "Pac Man" into the ring afterward in an attempt to force a fight with the legend. Garcia had also been coveting a shot at Pacquiao.
Thurman believes that getting the fight over the others simply came down to the boxing scheduling gods — his victory over Lopez came exactly one week after Pacquiao's Jan. 19 dismantling of Adrien Broner.
"I was confident the whole time that I was going to get the fight," Thurman said. "I believe the stars were aligned in my favor a little bit more with the fact that Pacquiao fought a week before my fight and that just makes us on the same schedule, basically."
When asked at the press conference why he selected Thurman over Spence and Garcia, Pacquiao offered this: "I choose Keith Thurman because he's undefeated and I want to prove that at the age of 40, I can still beat an undefeated fighter."
That response sounds good, but Spence is undefeated, too, at 25-0 with 21 KOs, so it will lead people to believe that Pacquiao views Thurman as the path of least resistance in comparison to "The Truth."
To that, Thurman said he believes any of the top welterweights would give Pacquiao problems. He just feels honored to be the one selected.
"I said it years ago — Manny Pacquiao will not fare well against any of the young, top fighters today, whether it be Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Errol Spence," he said bluntly. "I just believe it’s time to go."
Pacquiao notoriously doesn’t offer up sound bites during fight promotion, and it appears he will do his talking in the ring this time, too.
"Let’s prove it in the ring July 20," he said.
“I will show you what it’s like to be in the ring with me July 20," he said grimly moments later.
Thurman spoke late last year about facing Spence, Porter or Terence Crawford in 2020 with three titles on the line. With Spence and Porter headed toward a clash, Thurman can do his part in setting up that bout by notching a convincing win over Pacquiao.
The chance to fight Mayweather eluded him the way "Money" weaved and slipped his opponents' punches. An opportunity to add a legendary name to his ring resume is now less than two months away.
Let’s see what "One Time" does with it.
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