Thurman cites Pacman layoff as pivotal

LAS VEGAS — Keith Thurman, who lost to Manny Paquiao but won over Mario Barrios, weighed in heavily on the much-awaited World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight title clash Saturday at the MGM Grand.

It was obvious that Thurman is torn between Pacquiao and Barrios and his forecast didn’t really point to a clear winner.

“Barrios is notorious for that (good) defense and susceptible to being hit and we talk about Pac speed, his legs and conditioning but the one thing that’s not going away from Manny is his power,” said Thurman, who was unbeaten when he dropped a split decision to the Filipino icon in July 2019.

“He brings in that crafty and challenging footwork and some angles and I could see that challenging Mario Barrios. Now, I don’t know what strategy him and his team are developing but if they want to stay on this high, at the top, when you are fighting a legend like Manny Pacquiao, you have to bring strategy into play but of course, it’s not a guarantee. You bring in Plan A, maybe Plan A doesn’t work and you gotta have Plan B and Plan C.”

Thurman feels the game plan is key since the duel could end up being a chess match.

“But at the end of the day, it’s nice to be tactical and see if you can implement throughout the fight. And that’s the purpose of tactics. Your opposition is their job to go the way you don’t want it to go.”

However, Thurman is not totally sold on a Pacquiao win given his close to four-year inactivity.

“This layoff is bigger than the Covid layoff,” he said, noting that the two exhibitions Pacquiao took part in are big question marks.

Exhibitions? Did it help him?

“We’ll know tomorrow,” Thurman said.