After just falling short in his WBA welterweight title defense against Manny Pacquiao, American boxer Keith Thurman acknowledged that his long period of inactivity had been a factor in his performance.
Thurman established himself as one of the top names in the 147-pound class with big wins over Robert Guerrero, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia, but injuries among other issues forced him to be out of action for nearly two years.
After beating Garcia via split decision in March 2017, he did not fight again until January 2019, when he outpointed Josesito Lopez.
"We've seen champions' inactivity not favor them from time to time," Thurman said in the post-fight press conference, after he was on the losing end of a split decision against Pacquiao.
"But I just thought that I would be able to do some countering, utilize my jab from the outside, and really pressure him in the way that I did," he added. "Some of the things that I wanted to do, I was able to do."
Indeed, Thurman came oh-so-close to beating Pacquiao. He recovered well from a knockdown in the first round and controlled most of the middle rounds. He repeatedly landed his right straight, but a huge body blow by Pacquiao in the 10th round again had him reeling.
Ultimately, one of the three judges scored the bout in his favor, but the other two gave the fight to Pacquiao. It was Thurman's first loss in his professional boxing career.
"I knew I had the skills to be victorious in the ring," said Thurman. "But yeah, obviously, 22 months out of the ring… Josesito Lopez, and then Manny Pacquiao."
"I tried to stay active, but you know, maybe another fight in between would have helped," he admitted.
Now that he is back – and after fighting on pay-per-view for the very first time – Thurman is determined to stay active. He believes he proved a point against Pacquiao, even in a loss.
"I promised you guys that it will be one of the most exciting fights of the summer," he said. "Of course, I wanted to win the fight, I fell short, but it was a blessing, and a lesson because we gotta do a little bit more."
"I do know that I'm a true champion," he added. "Keith 'One Time' Thurman has always been a true champion. I will be back."
"You get knocked down, you gotta pick yourself back up. That's what champions do. Like I said, we'll be back."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Local fight analysts were surprised Manny Pacquiao had to settle for a split decision against Keith Thurman despite his dominance during their world welterweight title clash on Saturday in Las Vegas (Sunday Manila time).
This is why fight commentators Ed Tolentino and Danrex Tapdasan said it was crucial for Pacquiao to score at least one knockdown against the erstwhile unbeaten American.
Judge Dave Moretti and Tim Cheatham had it 115-112, while
Glen Feldman favored Thurman with 114-113.
"Buti na lang nakuha nu'ng dalawa ang tamang score," said Tolentino during DZMM's live telecast of the Pacquiao-Thurman bout.
"I really thought it should have been a unanimous decision. Lumalabas na importante pala na naka-knockdown si Manny Pacquiao dahil kung sakali nakasalba ng draw itong si Thurman."
Dapdasan, for his part, said that this unfairly puts a question mark on Pacquiao's victory over Thurman despite his dominating performance.
"Lumalabas pa tuloy in the books na naging questionable pa ang pagkapanalo niya dahil split decision," he said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Manny Pacquiao was the rightful winner over Keith Thurman in their world welterweight title fight in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time), but the nature of Pacquiao's victory stoked some controversy.
In a fight Pacquiao clearly dominated, judges called it a split decision, which rankled those who saw the Filipino champion impose his will on Thurman from start to finish.
Even those on the TV crew in the American broadcast for the fight voiced their astonishment over the decision.
Judges Dave Moretti and Tim Cheatham each scored the bout 115-112, while judge Glenn Feldman had it 114-113.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MANILA, Philippines – A first round knockdown set the tone for Manny Pacquiao as he outpointed American boxer Keith Thurman in their highly anticipated WBA welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).
At 40 years old, the "Pacman" still displayed tremendous speed, punching power, and a tough chin en route to claiming a split decision over Thurman, a man 10 years younger.
One judge scored the bout 114-113 for Thurman, but the two other judges saw it in Pacquiao's favor, 115-112, giving the Filipino the victory – and the WBA welterweight championship in what was his 28th world title fight.
"He did his best, and I did my best, so the people are happy," said Pacquiao, who had his name chanted by the partisan MGM crowd all night long.
"Thurman . . . he did his best, he's not an easy opponent. He's a good boxer, he's strong, and I'm just blessed tonight," he added.
Pacquiao improved his record to 62 wins, with 7 losses and 2 draws. Thurman, meanwhile, lost for the first time in his professional career to drop to 29-1.
(More details to follow.)
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In just a few days, Manny Pacquiao will be going against Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight championship. What are the Fighting Senator's chances? Migs Bustos breaks it down.
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World Boxing Association welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (left) and WBA welterweight super champion Keith Thurman pose during a news conference at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two will meet in a WBA welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 21, Manila time.
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NEW YORK -- Keith Thurman returned from a near two-year layoff to retain his World Boxing Association welterweight world title with a 12-round majority decision over Josesito Lopez on Saturday.
America's Thurman, showing no sign of rust, knocked down Lopez with a massive left hook to the chin in the second as he controlled the early rounds.
He weathered a storm in the middle rounds, with Lopez unleashing a fierce barrage in the seventh that had the champion in trouble.
Thurman was deemed the winner by two judges by scores off 115-111 and 117-109 with the third seeing it a 113-113 draw.
"The champ is back!" said Thurman, who was forced to surrender his World Boxing Council belt as he was idled by injury but retained his WBA "super" world title, one rung above the "regular" WBA belt held by Manny Pacquiao.
Thurman, who improved to 29-0 with 22 wins inside the distance, said he'd be ready to take on the Filipino ring icon before the year is out.
"Maybe Brooklyn, maybe Vegas, wherever Manny Pacquiao wants it," Thurman said. "I'd even fight him in the Philippines if I have to."
Thurman was fighting for the first time 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.
Nevertheless, he quickly took control against Lopez, moving well against the aggressive challenger and landing solid punches.
But Lopez had him on the run in the seventh, connecting with a huge left hook to Thurman's jaw and backing up the champion.
"He had me buzzed, he had me shaken up," Thurman admitted. "I was trying to stay on the outside. I just was a little off in my prediction of his long arms and the way that he was lunging in, willing to really swing and commit for the knockout. He was coming for me."
- 'World title performance' -
After another solid performance from Lopez in the eighth, Thurman regained control and said he'll only get better from here.
"I told everybody, you're not going to see the best Keith "One-time" Thurman after 22 months, but you will see a world title performance."
On the undercard, Polish-born, Brooklyn-based heavyweight Adam Kownacki remained unbeaten with a spectacular second-round technical knockout of former world title challenger Gerald Washington.
Kownacki improved to 19-0 with 15 wins inside the distance. He sent Washington to the canvas with a massive right hand in the second round. Washington beat the count, but the referee called the halt moments later -- at 1:09 of the second round -- as he failed to put up any defense under a barrage from Kownacki.
In a World Boxing Association featherweight eliminator, Mongolia's unbeaten Tugstsogt Nyambayar improved to 11-0 with nine knockouts with a unanimous 12-round decision over Claudio Marrero.
Nyambayar won by scores of 114-113, 115-112 and 116-111 as Marrero, who had a point deducted for a low blow, fell to 23-3 with 17 wins inside the distance.
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LAS VEGAS, United States - Filipino star Manny Pacquiao tipped the scales half a pound lighter here Friday for his WBA welterweight title bout against Adrien Broner.
A trim-looking Pacquiao, who faces Broner at Las Vegas's MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, weighed in at exactly 146 pounds.
Broner, who is determined to wreck what will be Pacquiao's first fight on US soil since 2016, came in at 146.5 pounds.
Pacquiao smiled broadly as he faced off with Broner for the cameras following the weigh-in.
The eight-division world champion later said he wants to prove that he still has the ability to be a force in the welterweight division despite turning 40 last month.
"I'm happy to be back here and happy to fight tomorrow night," Pacquiao said.
"Forty is just a number, it doesn't matter that I'm 40 years old -- I feel young," he added. "Tomorrow I have something to prove: that at 40 I can still be at my best ... I want to prove that Manny Pacquiao is still there."
Pacquiao (60-4-2, 39 knockouts) last fought in July last year, when he scored his first knockout in six years with a seventh-round stoppage of Argentina's Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur.
Pacquiao, who holds the lesser version of the WBA's two welterweight belts, is widely believed to be angling for a rematch with retired welterweight king Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather won their money-spinning first bout in 2015 in a contest that failed to live up to its "Fight of the Century" hype.
Broner, 29, said Friday he is determined to seize his opportunity.
"I feel good. It's a helluva opportunity," he said. "After I win tomorrow night I'll be a legend overnight."
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