FILE – Keith Thurman looks on during a press conference before his WBA Welterweight Championship fight against Manny Pacquiao, at The Beverly Hills Hotel on May 22, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines—With two weeks to go before WBA Super World welterweight title, defending champion Keith Thurman is back to talking smack against Manny Pacquiao.
Thurman once again brought attention to Pacquiao’s age, saying the 40-year-old Filipino boxing champion should just play basketball instead of still fighting in the ring.
“I just believe the hourglass is almost finished,” Thurman said in a report on BoxingScene.com, “He doesn’t have much left, go play basketball Manny! You say you like to play basketball every day. Go shoot hoops with the guys, man!”
Pacquiao is a known lover of basketball even becoming a player-coach of the Columbian franchise, which began its life as Kia in the PBA, for three seasons.
Although he carried a dual responsibility with the team, Pacquiao played just 10 games in the PBA as he juggled his time as a professional boxer and also as a legislator in the Philippine Congress.
Thurman (29-0), who is 10 years younger than Pacquiao, also felt slighted when he became the underdog in Las Vegas’ odds with Pacquiao (61-7-2) becoming the -115 favorite (a bettor has to place $115 to win $100) while he is at -105.
“This is my fight, he’s fighting for my belt and yet the world has forgot. So I wanted to stab him a little bit, hit him where it hurts,” said Thurman, who owns the WBA’s top welterweight belt while Pacquiao is the sanctioning body’s “regular” 147-pound champion.
Thurman is coming off a majority decision win over Josesito Lopez on Jan. 26 while Pacquiao earned a lopsided unanimous decision victory over former four-division World champion Adrien Broner on Jan. 19.
Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division World champion, also had a technical knockout win over Lucas Matthysse in July of 2018 while Thurman’s last stoppage win was in December 2013 when he stopped Jesus Soto Karass.
“He said he felt good [after the Broner fight], in my head at home I said ‘he felt good because he didn’t get punched in the face, he felt good because he didn’t get punched in the body,’” said Thurman.
“How good is he going to feel after 12 rounds of boxing with your man right here, Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman?”