Pacquiao: Thurman Underestminated Lopez
While Keith Thurman will be in for possibly the fight of his life when he defends the WBA “Super” Welterweight Title against the legendary WBA “Regular” Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao on July 20, it will only be his second fight after a long layoff.
After claiming the WBA Title in 2013, Thurman captured the WBC Welterweight Title with a split-decision win in a March 2017 title unification fight with Danny Garcia. But a string of injuries caused him to miss all of 2018 and forced to surrender the WBC Title.
Thurman returned to action back in January in a title defense against Josesito Lopez. Thurman has stated most of his preparation for the fight involved losing weight, as he ballooned up to the 180-pound range while inactive, and Pacquiao could tell Thurman was not all there when fighting Lopez.
“He was kind of slow and I think he underestimated his opponent,” Pacquiao said. “He was not in 100-percent condition in that fight.”
While Thurman dropped Lopez early on in the fight, he could not finish the bout, not as well-received, and only won the fight on a majority decision.
Pacquiao says he expects Thurman in better condition for their pay-per-view main event bout and says he won’t make the same mistake Thurman made against Lopez by taking him for granted.
“This fight, I expect him to be 100 percent,” Pacquiao said. “He will work hard and prepare well for this fight. I don’t want to underestimate Keith. He’s 30 years old. He will work hard, I’m sure, for this fight.”
Original Story: Boxing Scene