Manny Pacquiao camp denies Amir Khan’s claim over Saudi Arabia bout
In 2017, Khan and Pacquiao were slated to have a bout but an agreement could not be reached between the two.
Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao inched undefeated Keith Thurman to become the WBA welterweight champion in a split decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The instant classic fight saw two judges score the fight 115-112 for Pacquiao while the third had it 114-113 for Thurman, reports news.com.au.
“It was fun,” Pacquiao said after the bout, adding, “My opponent is a good fighter and boxer. He was strong. I think he did his best, and I did my best. I think we made the fans happy tonight because it was a good fight.”
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The 40-year-old also said he is planning on fighting again in 2020, possibly against the winner of the 28 September fight between Errol Spence Jr and Shawn Porter.
Thurman was fighting for his 30th straight win against the Filipino. The 30-year-old Florida-lad had height, reach, weight and age advantage over 40-year-old Pacquiao, but was chasing the fight from the beginning and started to bleed from his nose in the fifth round.
However, Thurman recovered in the middle of the fight but Pacquiao stormed back to take the last few rounds.
“I knew it was close,” the American said, acknowledging, “He had the momentum because he got the knockdown in Round 1. I wish I had a little bit more output to go toe to toe.”
“My conditioning, my output was just behind Manny Pacquiao’s tonight. Tonight was a blessing and a lesson,” he added.
Pacquiao — a world champion at eight weights — was fighting for the 71st time in his incredible career that has seen seven defeats; four of those losses coming in his past 11 fights before the meeting with Thurman.
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