By Raj Parmar: As the mega-fight between 2000’s fighter of the decade Manny Pacquiao and undefeated champion Keith Thurman draws closer, more and more fans are backing the Pacman to turn in a historic performance and get the victory over Thurman.
Thurman opened up as the betting favorite over Manny when the fight was announced, however the fight had moved to even odds before Manny now finally taking over as the favorite per Forbes. This is somewhat surprising as many initially viewed this matchup as a easy fight for Thurman given Pacquiao’s advanced age and Thurman being in the prime of his career.
While Pacquiao is the smaller and much older fighter, it has been reported that Thurman’s taunts have really hit the wrong nerve in Manny. In an effort to throw Manny off his game or simply to hype the fight, Thurman has made light of Manny’s religious views as well as downplaying the Filipino fighter’s previous accomplishments.
According to those who work with Manny, these comments by Thurman has lit a fire in the eight division champion and Manny is pumped up to teach Thurman a lesson. Manny’s body has indeed looked very shredded as he prepares for the fight and Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has even gone as far as to say that he guarantees a knockout victory for Manny.
In addition to these reports, it has been rumored that Pacquiao is putting a beat-down against his sparring partners and he is hungry for the knockout. Even though in recent years Manny has shied away from vicious knockouts due to his deep religious beliefs, he will be aiming to hurt and put Keith on the canvas in this fight.
All these factors have bettors putting their money on the Pacman. Manny remains a boxing icon and casual fans may not know Thurman very well, making Manny a popular pick for bettors in a big fight due to name brand alone. Even though he is 40 and up against an undefeated hard hitting champion, a lot of gamblers are putting their hard earned money on the table hoping that the Pacman can turn back the clock and take out Thurman with a vintage performance.