Manny Pacquiao Compares Himself To NBA Legend Jason Kidd

Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao thinks NBA legend Jason Kidd is his counterpart in professional basketball.

The superfight between two famous welterweight champions Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman is only days away from taking place. And as both fighters continue to better themselves ahead of the bout, Pacquiao seems to have a bit of spare time to sit and talk about basketball.

In a recent talk with ESPN, Pacquiao shared some interesting thoughts things outside boxing. The eight-division title holder was asked different questions including which NBA players could be considered similar to him in terms of overall performance.

Pacquiao, who is not only a professional boxer but also was a professional basketball player in the Philippines for a short period of time, answered "Jason Kidd."

Some would assume that the Filipino legend picked Kidd because they both can perform well even during their twilight years, but to everybody's surprise, Pacquiao has chosen the former New Jersey Nets star simply because they "can dribble" the basketball quite well.

Pacquiao, being an evident basketball fanatic, also revealed that the Golden State Warriors is his favorite NBA team. He also added that his favorite NBA player was the Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

Pacquiao was also asked if there is a hobby or sport that he finds himself doing aside from boxing, as obvious as it could be, the Filipino legend replied "basketball."

As expected Pacquiao also talked about his upcoming opponent and said that he is "motivated" by Thurman's trash talks.

"I'm so motivated for this fight because of all the trash talk that he says. I want to prove to him that he's wrong," Pacquiao said.

When asked what would make him lose to Thurman, Pacquiao only had one thing to say.

"When you're not ready and 100 percent conditioned," Pacquiao answered.

At some point during the brief interview, Pacquiao was pressed about a potential rematch with the undefeated boxing champ Floyd Mayweather. The legend's response was short and simple. According to him, that question should be answered by Mayweather himself because as far as he is concerned, he is active and Mayweather is officially retired.

"If he's coming back and decided to fight me, I'm here," Pacquiao noted.

Pacquiao's long-time coach and trainer Freddie Roach also revealed in an interview a few days prior, that they both "tremendously" want a rematch with Mayweather but if the flamboyant fighter is "too scared" to fight, then they still got Errol Spence or Terrence Crawford lined up.