According to latest boxing News, the many fans of boxing matches aren’t impressed with the recently announced boxing match scheduled between Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman. The match has been scheduled for July 20, 2019, and Fox Sports is in charge of handling the pay-per-view.
If we ought to go with the paper, then the scheduled match is certainly excellent as the veteran Pacquiao who sports a professional boxing record of 61-7-2 is going to be appearing yet again after he was last in action on January 19, 2019. He had scored a unanimous decision over Adrien Broner and played an impressive match throughout.
Pacquiao who is nearing his retirement now has put together a two-fight win streak, but at 40 years old the veteran only has a few more high quality and profile matches left to play.
On the other hand, Keith Thurman is believed to be undefeated as he sports a professional record of 29-0 with 1 no contest. The boxer had last fought Josesito Lopez on January 26, 2019, and had scored the win via majority decision. That was supposedly his first fight in close to two years as he had recovered from an injury.
Thurman who is only 30 years old should be just entering his prime.
The scheduled match is expected to be all sorts of the classic between one of the best boxers of all times who in the twilight of his career is going to face an undefeated contender. However, the issue is that not everyone is convinced that Thurman is still the same fighter he used to be before he got his hand and elbow injuries.
As per the reports, Thurman was tested by Lopez who is also a 36-8 fighter, who some dignify as a much capable journeyman. The fact that Lopez was able to test Thurman, wins rounds, and also prevented a unanimous decision win in Thurman’s return is quite appealing.
Now the question arises that did Lopez fight above his level or was Thurman experiencing ring rust, or has the previous injuries prevented and restrained him from being the dominant fighter which may have prompted him to be.
The fight which was highly anticipated by several fans was reportedly a showdown between Pacquiao and the undefeated Errol Spence Jr., who also holds a professional record of 25-0. Spence’s last match was held against the previously undefeated Mikey Garcia, who had reportedly gone up two weight classes to challenge the IFC Welterweight champion. News says it that Spence was dominant which lead him to a unanimous decision win on March 16, 2019.
However, there is still an argument ongoing regarding the weight class difference between the two fighters which played a factor in the results but there was little doubt on how good Errol was in that bout. It is said that he had even received loads of praise from his fans, experts, and even his opponents.
As per few reports, Pacquiao had originally agreed to fight against Spence Jr. but had later turned down the fight, as he chose Thurman instead. This sudden decision has left the fans wondering if Pacquiao is looking forward to challenging himself or just wants to put his self in the best position to win his next upcoming match.
Amidst all discussion, the main concern remains the same which is a Pacquiao vs. Thurman fight is certainly not strong enough to support a pay-per-view while a Pacquiao vs. Spence Jr. fight would have seen tons of fans getting excited. Moreover, they would also have been willing to spend the money to make that event a grand success for both the boxers, regardless of what the result would have been.
The Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman for the WBA (Super) Welterweight title is scheduled to take place on July 20. 2019, and the location is yet to be declared.
