Manny Pacquiao Legacy, Keith Thurman Plight Could Be Decided Inside 12 Rounds

The stage is set for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman fight happening this weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The trash-talking continues, but both seem to agree that the fight will not last the full 12 rounds. Both have revealed the reasons behind their calls, though it will still boil down to who executes their fight plan well.

On the part of Pacquiao, it is all about legacy and passion. This is unquestionable seeing how the Filipino boxing icon has shown that he still has the speed behind the punches and go for knockouts when warranted. He proved this against Lucas Matthysse and showed his mastery in that lopsided victory over Adrien Broner.

With regards to Thurman, there is no denying that he is headed into the clash with lots of confidence. In a previous article, it was reported how the 30-year-old pug raised the stakes by betting on himself to knockout Pacquiao inside two rounds.

"That's motivation! I can't go 3 minutes going 'tap, tap, tap' when I got $10k on the round!" said Thurman in an interview with TMZ Sports.

It is not hard to see why Thurman is brimming with confidence. He remains undefeated and is 10 years younger than Pacquiao. But to this day, many are singling out his woeful performance against Josesito Lopez. Though he won via majority decision win, getting rocked in the 7th round of that fight raised several questions.

Thurman will of course have nothing of that and he has been given the proper time to correct that miscalculation. But against someone like Pacquiao, the WBA welterweight champion cannot afford to make the same mistake.

Pacquiao seems to be aware of what Thurman brings to the table and believes that One Time is a good fighter. However, points out how mindset will play an important role before both start exchanging blows at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this weekend, Boxingscene.com reported.

"His era of opposition is a lot different than mine. The difference between the mentality of my era compared to Keith Thurman’s is I have a strong passion for the sport of boxing and he seems to have other interests. I still have something to prove at age forty," said the boxer-senator from the Philippines.

Pacquiao and Thurman get it on July 20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with preliminaries kicking off at 7:00 p.m. EST. Live stream will be available via FITE TV or FOX Live Stream.