NAKATITIYAK si WBA “super’ welterweight champion Keith Thurman na 90 porsiyentong maghaharap si WBA “regular” welterweight Manny Pacquiao at dating pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. sa isa na namang multi-million dollar match sa taong ito.
Ngunit kung hindi matutuloy ang laban ay handa si Thurman na harapin si Pacquiao sa WBA unification bout.
“I am 90 percent sure Mayweather will end a third retirement to fight Pacquiao again,” sabi ni Thurman sa BoxingScene.com
Nakatakdang idepensa ni Thurman ang kanyang WBA title laban kay Mexican American Josesito Lopez sa Enero 26 sa Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.
“Floyd’s silent talk is really him saying, ‘Give me a statement, not a question, of $150 million up front,’ whatever the numbers may be,” paliwanag ni Thurman.
“It just needs to be pleasing to the ears before Floyd will consider it. But it’s really hard for any human being to not take $100 million or greater for a 36-minute performance,” dagdag ni Thurman. “I believe if Floyd were to make half of what he did against Pacquiao the first time, it’s still worth it. It’s still worth it, man. They’re both past their primes and Floyd is just a very slick boxer. Even though he does throw one punch at a time, similar to what Adrien Broner did, he just does it way more effectively, he has better defense, better movement throughout the ring, with the ring awareness.”
May rekord ang walang talong si Mayweather na perpektong 50 panalo, 27 sa knockouts at tinalo niya sa puntos si Pacquiao noong Mayo 2015. Las Vegas, Nevada.
“He beat him once, I think he would beat him twice. You know, and I think Manny Pacquiao would be able to retire happily after such a paycheck. So that’s why I say the likelihood, in my opinion, is 90 percent,” dagdag ni Thurman. “Of course, I would love to be wrong because that would open up doors for me. Hopefully it would open up doors for me to negotiate with the legend, Manny Pacquiao. But we’ll see. There’s tons of opportunities at 147, so regardless I still have a beautiful job.”
May kartada si Pacquiao 61-7-2 win-loss-draw na may 39 pagwawagi sa knockouts at posibleng iutos ng WBA ang unification bout kay Thurman na may perpektong 28 panalo, 22 sa pamamagitan ng knockouts.
-Gilbert Espeña