Highlighting the best
of the week’s stories
WWW.BOXINGNEWSONLINE.NET8 lBOXING NEWSlJULY 4, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.netNEWS AND OPINION
PREPPING:
Pacquiao hits the pads
with trainer Roach‘And he’s
going to find
out the truth
on July 20.’
Keith
Thurman
tells John
Dennen
why it’s his
time to take
over from
Manny
Pacquiao
EITH THURMAN
is in the final stages
of preparing for his
July 20 clash with
Manny Pacquiao
at the MGM Grand
in Las Vegas.
Their WBA welterweight title fight
will be broadcast on FOX Sports PPV in
America and ITV Box Office in the UK.
For Thurman this will be his defining
fight. “I wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao
and Floyd Mayweather six years ago
at the age of 24. I was never presented
with the opportunity at that time. I’m
presented with the opportunity today. So
the opportunity’s not coming tomorrow,
it’s here today. I’ve got to take full
advantage of it,” he told Boxing News.
“Every welterweight in the welterweight
division wanted this fight. They can
say whatever they want to say about
this fight but everybody wanted thisfight. Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, even
Terence Crawford would take this fight.
Everybody wanted this fight, as long as
Manny Pacquiao still wanted to be an
active fighter and he wanted to make
more exciting fights for the fight fans.
I just think this is one of the best
matchups of the year and I definitely
believe it could be one of the best fights
of the year once we start trading.”
Until January, though, Thurman had
had two years out of the sport, hampered
by injury. That hiatus stalled the
momentum he’d built after unifying the
WBC and WBA world titles with his 2017
victory over Danny Garcia. The Florida
man returned to beat Josesito Lopez
early this year and insists that now he is
ready for Pacquiao. “I felt a little sluggish
[then], not truly myself. A little lack of
confidence when it came to being in the
ring. But this time we’re just preparing in
a better way. I believe that ➤‘ROACH HAS
PUMPED MANNY’S
HEAD WITH LIES’
K