Manny Pacquiao will be gunning at much bigger things once he dispatches Keith Thurman on July 20 at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
ABS-CBN News reported that Pacquiao is willing to face the winner of another huge 147-pound showdown between Erroll Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter.
The date and location of the fight have not been announced yet, but both Al Haymon-managed PBC fighters are confident their welterweight unification bout will be announced soon. Spence, 29, holds the IBF welterweight title while Porter, 31, possesses the WBC strap.
Pacquiao playing mind games
Pacquiao normally doesn’t look past his current opponent while in the middle of his preparation. However, he could be just giving Thurman a dose of his own medicine after the American’s latest act of disrespect on the Filipino Boxing icon.
In his latest Instagram video, Thurman once again reiterated his goal of retiring Pacquiao, calling him “easy work.”
The 30-year-old WBA (Super) welterweight champ then added that he would be ready for Spence or everybody else as soon as he finishes off PacMan.
When it comes to the war of words, Thurman has been the hands-down winner.
The undefeated welterweight champion repeatedly talked thrash to Pacquiao in every press conference, and even revealed his plan of placing a $10,000 bet on a KO win in just two rounds.
On the other hand, Pacquiao has kept his calm, cool demeanor but he admitted that Thurman’s thrash talks have motivated him to bring back the old, ferocious version of himself.
Road to the undisputed championship
Pacquiao’s place in boxing’s history is already secured, becoming the only fighter to win world titles in eight different weight divisions.
His signature wins against Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and Antonio Margarito will forever be immortalized, yet it seems the Pacman isn’t done yet in adding another glorious chapter to his illustrious career.
Pacquiao’s desire to face the victor of the Spence-Porter fight only shows that he’s trying to achieve something he has never done before.
With all the belts and awards Pacquiao collected throughout the years, not even once the Filipino champ became an undisputed champion.
If he really wants to collect all four major belts in the 147-pound class, Pacquiao must understand that the road to the undisputed championship is a perilous journey where he will encounter the likes of Thurman and Spence.
At the end of that road awaits Terrence Crawford, who is the current WBO champion and universally recognized the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
For a 40-year-old fighter, it looks like a long shot for Pacquiao to accomplish such a difficult feat. Then again, the fighting pride of the Philippines proved time after time that he still possesses the speed, stamina, and power to withstand any typhoon that comes his way.
