Thurman tells Pacquiao to his face that Spence beats him

Keith Thurman met up with his former conqueror Manny Pacquiao during last weekend’s kickoff press conference in Los Angeles and then said to his face that Errol Spence Jr is going to beat him on August 21st.

Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) showed no emotion while Thurman told the media that he views IBF/WBA welterweight champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) will win next month.

It was interesting to watch Thurman praising Manny to his face, pouring compliments on and then, in the next breath, telling the media that Spence is going to win.

That’s what you got to like about Thurman, his honesty. He’s a Howard Cossell type of guy who tells it like it is and doesn’t hide his thoughts.

Pacquiao, 42, is up against it in challenging the unbeaten Spence Jr because there’s a big disparity in age and size for this fight. Also, Pacquiao hasn’t fought in two years since 2019, and he barely won that fight against Thurman.

“I favor Spence, he’s big,” said Thurman to Fighthub when asked who he’s picking for the fight. Pacquiao was standing right there when Thurman was being interviewed.

“Everything he [Manny] does is a challenge. He loves challenges. That’s one of the things that makes him one of the greatest fighters.

“You’ve heard him constantly say, ‘I want to make great fights.’ I almost felt like he says, ‘Action, action, action.’ The last time he didn’t get action was Adrien Broner.

“I know when he walked out of the ring, he knew he’d won, but he [Pacquiao] was sad because he felt like he’d disappointed the fans.

“After that, he’s fighting Keith Thurman; after that, he’s fighting Errol Spence Jr. No matter where he is in life, this man loves a challenge.

“He’s a real warrior, a real fighter. He was raised in this, he was bred in this, and he wants the best until the day he’s done.

“He doesn’t want to be in a training camp to fight anybody. He wants to be in a training camp to fight the best in the world,” said Thurman.

A victory for Pacquiao over Spence will cement him in as the greatest welterweight ever. While some boxing fans believe Floyd Mayweather Jr deserves to hold that position, the reality is, he didn’t beat a lot of great fighters at 147.

Mayweather defeated an injured Pacquiao in 2015. You can’t give Mayweather full credit for the victory because Pacquiao was competing with a torn right shoulder.

Other than that, Mayweather’s best wins at 147 were against these fighters:

• Robert Guerrero
• Marcos Maidana
• Zab Judah
• Shane Mosley
• Ricky Hatton
• Juan Manuel Marquez
• Victor Ortiz
• Andre Berto
• Sharmba Mitchell
• Carlos Baldomir

Hatton and Marquez were both fighting out of their natural weight classes when they fought Mayweather. Berto and Mosley were both well over-the-hill when they fought Mayweather.

“Yeah, I’m sparring two guys that are bigger than me, so it’s good. It helps a lot,” since Pacquiao to Fighthub on his preparation for Spence. “No, you have to do in sparring so that you can show your best in the fight.