Thurman raring to test mettle vs Pacquiao

LOS ANGELES – WBA “super” welterweight champion Keith Thurman said he is excited to find out if he got what it takes to bring down a legendary fighter like Manny Pacquiao.

Speaking in a lengthy interview with “Inside PBC Boxing,” the unbeaten fighter is likewise curious to know if Pacquiao will turn out to be his toughest opponent to date.

“As a fighter you should never consider anybody the toughest opponent until they prove their toughness to you. He may be the toughest opponent of my career, but I do not know today. I will find out very soon,” the Clearwater, Florida-based fighter said.

While Thurman has fought and defeated respectable names such as Robert Guerrero, Luis Collazo, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia, those fighters are nowhere near the caliber of Pacquiao — a first-ballot Hall of Famer who remains dangerously competitive even at 40 years old.

“It’s a big fight, it’s a big stage. For me, it’s a dream come true.”@keithfthurmanjr joins the ‘Inside PBC Boxing’ crew to discuss his fight with Manny Pacquiao July 20th. pic.twitter.com/KVvbfqz3vx

— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) July 14, 2019

“Manny Pacquiao is a legend. And really the question is: Is the legacy of Manny Pacquiao, at the age of 40, is he that kind of a legendary fighter where today he can defeat an undefeated welterweight like myself?” he continued.

In facing Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 knockouts) Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (Sunday Manila time), Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs) will be having a step-up in competition and will be trying his best to keep his “0.”

Pacquiao, for his part, is motivated to be the first to defeat Thurman and shut him up for good.

“We can already fight now, tomorrow or the day after,” the Filipino icon said yesterday after training at the Wild Card Gym here.

Pacquiao is likewise fired up by Thurman’s trash-talk, something he expects to continue in Las Vegas for fight week.

And Thurman sees no reason to end the verbal jabs.

“I'm having fun,” he said.

Thurman can’t wait to put his title and perfect record five days from now.

“Is the undefeated welterweight Keith 'One Time' Thurman undefeated for a reason? Is he really hard to beat? And who better to test me than the legendary Manny Pacquiao?,” he continued.

The ultimate goal, said Thurman, is to become a legend himself. And that would require taking down a legend like Pacquiao.

“The time is now. I'm gonna grab it.”