Keith Thurman: I'm Not A Big Fan Of Manny Pacquiao's Defense

By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao pointed out during the buildup toward his showdown with Keith Thurman that there are obvious holes in Thurman’s defense he’ll be able to exploit.

The feeling is more than mutual.

When watching Pacquiao, Thurman sees a vulnerable southpaw who commits to his offense without paying much mind to protecting himself. That, Thurman predicted, will provide him with all the opportunities he’ll need to hurt the reckless Filipino legend in exchanges Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“The beauty about boxing is when you wanna hit me, you’re committing to your attack. OK?,” Thurman said following a press conference Wednesday at MGM Grand. “Counter-punching is about timing somebody who commits to the attack. Slipping is about dodging when somebody commits to the attack. I mean, I just know my boxing, man. I just know what it means to be in the ring and trade punches and angles. Manny Pacquiao’s not gonna be throwing punches from angles I’ve never seen. You know? He might throw awkward combinations. He might fight in spurts. I’ve been in the ring with a similar style.

“The number one thing that’s different is his overall footwork. But one thing that I’m not a big fan of is Manny Pacquiao’s defense. I think his offense is his defense. I don’t think he really has defense. He’s not technical. I was 9 years old and [late trainer] Ben Getty said one simple thing, ‘From the chin, back to the chin.’ Go watch him hit the heavy bag. Never does it. He can’t follow the first step in boxing, baby. Come on, now.”

Juan Manuel Marquez was able to perfectly time throwing a right hand that knocked an exposed Pacquiao unconscious in the sixth round of their fourth fight in December 2012. That fight took place at the very same venue where the 40-year-old Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) and the 30-year-old Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs, 1 NC) will meet Saturday night.

Six-and-a-half years later, Pacquiao is slightly favored to defeat a significantly younger, unbeaten champion in their FOX Sports Pay-Per-View main event (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $74.95 in HD).

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.