Boxing fans and Filipinos everywhere are still in awe of Manny Pacquiao’s performance during his victory over the previously undefeated Keith Thurman to capture the WBA Super welterweight title.
The bout lasted 12 exciting rounds, with both fighters showing why they’re the sport’s best. But ultimately, it was Pacquiao who prevailed in a split decision (more on that later).
With the fight done and (most) of the excitement behind us, we decided to look at five of its most important takeaways.
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For Pacquiao, age is just a number
Pacquiao defeated more than one opponent at the MGM Grand Arena; he also knocked out Father Time and proved anyone who may have doubted the 40-year-old’s ability to perform at such a high-caliber wrong.
Watching the fight, you would’ve never guessed that Thurman is 10 years younger than Pacquiao. “One Time” was woefully outmatched by the Filipino senator, who dominated the early rounds of the fight and managed a first-round knockdown.
Even when Thurman looked like the better fighter, Pacquiao stood his ground and was never dropped. Call it experience, pure talent, or something else: his skills in the squared circle are absolutely legendary.
This is Pacquiao’s third-straight win following his controversial 2017 loss to Jeff Horn. He’s clearly on a mission to show that he’s the most dominant fighter in any ring he steps in.
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Pacquaio hasn’t lost his speed
Late in the fight, Thurman started to turn things his way and he even landed a couple of chin shots on his opponent. Had he kept this up, there may have been another result at the end of the bout.
Then, in the 10th round, Pacquiao landed a body shot that nearly spelled game over for Thurman. Check it out here:
Pacquiao is known as one of the quickest boxers ever, and this is a clear example of why that is. Leave your guard down for a split second, and you can find yourself in serious trouble.
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Thurman is the real deal
Sure, “One Time” ultimately lost the bout but he proved himself a worthy opponent. Don’t believe so? Just ask Pacquiao. “[Thurman] is a good fighter and boxer,” he told reporters after the fight. “He was strong.”
Thurman also now holds the unique record of landing the most power punches by any Pacquiao opponent, with 192 (since such records started being tracked), according to CompuBox. Additionally, Thurman landed more total punches, 210 vs. 195. But, as always, it was quality that won over quantity.
His performance was impressive considering it was only his second since March 2017. Before his last fight in January, he had been away from the ring with injuries for 22 months.
There’s an argument to be made that Thurman may have had a more favorable result if he had a little less ring rust, and he even alluded to that when he said his conditioning was just behind Pacquiao’s.
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There’s always controversy
Anyone who watched the fight could easily tell that Pacquiao was the clear winner, right? Well…not really.
Judge Glenn Feldman gave Thurman the win with a 114-113 score, while the other two judges scored it 115-112 for Pacquiao. Thurman had a good performance but most fans could tell that Pacquiao was the more dominant fighter.
Feldman’s scoring has been criticized in just about every media outlet that covered the fight, and Yahoo Sports reported that Main Event commentator Ray Flores said, “That judge who had the fight in favor of Keith Thurman should never be able to judge a professional fight again, because he is bad at his job.”
Yes, Feldman’s scoring was outrageous. But fans should focus on the good aspects of the fight instead of the lone bad one. That is…
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Boxing is still a sport of the people
Boxing’s popularity has, to put it lightly, taken a few hard hits over the year. HBO dropped the sport late last year, and its popularity among the general public has tanked.
This has been attributed to a number of factors. For one, the once-exciting heavyweight division has been on the decline and mixed martial arts has attracted combat sports fans. On top of all of that, high-profile fights have often failed to deliver the excitement promised to fans (remember Mayweather-Pacquiao?).
Pacquiao-Thurman, though, served as a reminder of why people fall in love with and tune into the sport. It was fast-paced and fun to watch, and you almost didn’t want it to end. The crowd was abuzz throughout the fight and roared when Thurman called for a rematch. On social media, boxing enthusiasts cheered the two’s performance.
“I think we made the fans happy tonight because it was a good fight,” Pacquiao told the press after the fight. He’s absolutely right.
