Keith Thurman’s the New Jersey sportsbook favorite to beat Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on June 20.
But it’s not by very much in what could turn out to be one of 2019’s biggest ring battles.
PointsBet, newest of NJ’s 14 sportsbooks, and 888sport, one of the oldest, are currently reflecting the closeness of the odds.
On Monday PointsBet had Thurman at -141 (5/7) and Pacquiao at +115 (8/7), A draw counted as a ‘no bet’. 888sport, on the other hand, had Thurman at -148 (4/6), Pacquiao at +118 (59/60) and a draw at +2200 (22/1)
Thurman clearly is there because at 30 he is all of 10 years younger than Pacquiao. He is also bigger and taller than Pacman, is technically skilled and is unbeaten.
Pacquiao has won 12 world titles in 8 different divisions
Against this, however, is the fact that the nuggety Filipino phenomenon is an old, dab hand at winning world titles. To date, he has won 12 in eight different divisions. Taking away Thurman’s WBA Superwelterweight title is certainly not something he hasn’t done before.
The big question, though, is this: Are his glory years behind him? Does he still have what it takes to beat Thurman as he heads into middle age?
Tim Tszyu, an Australian light middleweight and Pacquiao’s sparring partner is totally convinced that he can.
In an interview with ‘The Manila Times’, Tszyu said Pacquiao’s legendary power was still there.
“It’s snappy. It’s like a sting. Imagine a sting you feel it in a few seconds. It’s different to any power I have ever been hit with before,” Tszyu said.
Tszyu also believes that Pacquiao will have a technical advantage. “I think he will hurt Thurman. He comes forward really quickly. And when he gets the right angle, he will catch Thurman.
If Pacquiao wants it bad enough, he’ll win convincingly
“If Manny wants it as bad as how he wanted it in his early days I think he will beat Thurman convincingly,” said Tszyu.
Justin Fortune, Pacquiao conditioning coach, strongly believes that Freddie Roach’s intelligence will also be a key strength in his corner.
“This is a technical fight so we’ll need Freddie there. This guy (Thurman) is not going to come forward.” Fortune told the ‘Manila Times’ earlier this month. “It is a technical fight absolutely. He won’t go toe-to-toe with Manny. He will run and move around,”
Fortune said Roach’s boxing know-how had been key to Pacquiao’s most recent victory against Adrien Broner. “Once Broner was hit by Manny, he couldn’t do anything about it.”
Tszyu and Fortune are both members of Pacquiao’s camp so their views may be somewhat one-sided. The recent record of the two fighters, however, gives some support to their views.
Pacquiao looked as good as ever in is his decisive defeat of Broner in January. The same couldn’t be said of Thurman when he outlasted Josesito Lopez a short time later. He’d been out of boxing for some time and his ring rust showed.
While we might be in for a great fight, it’s not an especially good one for the punters. They are going to have to spend a lot of money to make a lot. But that could also mean them losing a lot if the fight doesn’t go their way.
