Thurman targeting Danny Garcia and Manny Pacquiao rematches

By Boxing News - 04/11/2020 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Keith Thurman wants a big fight in a rematch with Danny Garcia or Manny Pacquiao when boxing restarts this year or in 2021. The former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) says Garcia and Pacquiao are both interested in facing him again, and he’d like that to happen pronto when he returns to the ring.

Thurman lost his last fight to Pacquiao by a 12 round split decision last July in a battle that could have gone his way. A couple of careless mistakes cost ‘One Time’ Thurman the win, and he wants to correct those mistakes in the rematch. Right now, Thurman is in quarantine like many Americans, waiting for the day when boxing will be given the official green light to begin again.

Thurman wants to take back his throne as the #1 welterweight in the division, and what better way to do that than to beat the only fighter that he has beaten him in Pacquiao.  The forced break is giving Thurman time to allow his surgically repaired left hand to heal. He wants to strengthen it with Yoga exercises before he starts training again.

Image: Thurman targeting Danny Garcia and Manny Pacquiao rematches

Thurman wants Pacquiao and Danny Garcia next

“Yoga is good for me right now because certain positions build up my hand wrist because it needs to build up that strength,” said Thurman to Fighthub. “I got my range of motion pretty good. It feels like my other hand. So that feels great. There’s no real swelling. I think there’s a small bump, and that might be from a staple in there, I don’t know.

“There was an article sent to me about Danny [Garcia] wants the rematch, and I might get the Pacquiao rematch. Those are two great rematches that I would love to make happen. I hope that’s what my future looks like.

“If it does, it does. If it doesn’t, then so be it. Let’s just get through this first. So many people are losing people. Family members are being affected, so prayers for them,” said Thurman.

For Pacquiao to fight Thurman next, he would be taking rematch because of the amount of interest their first fight generated. Although Pacquiao can fight Errol Spence, Mikey Garcia or Danny, those fighters aren’t able to make as much attention with their self-promotion

Thurman got off to a fast start, but then Garcia came on strong in the last six rounds when he backed off. Keith injured his left elbow, and that made it necessary for him to back off.

During the early part of the fight, Thurman was making Danny look bad with the way he was nailing him with fast power shots. It looked for a while there that Thurman might knock Danny out, but he couldn’t fight at the same level for the entire contest.

One Time will be ready to headline

“Yeah, late summer, but now I might have to push that back,” said Thurman when asked when he had wanted to return to the ring. There’s so much we don’t know. What about the cards that were about to happen that needed to be postponed. And what about the training camps that were about to happen but needs to be delayed?

“When the ball gets rolling again, there are people who’s product needs to be on the shelf. It’s like I can jump up, ‘I want a headline, and I want a date. Let’s see what happens. Do certain people lose their shows. Does everybody get the fights they deserve? You know how boxing is,” said Thurman.

“For the most part, it feels great. So I’m just looking for quarantine to be over with, and getting back in the gym and working on my skill set, and hopefully bringing some good action to the ring.

If Thurman can get Garcia or Pacquiao in his first fight back, that would be huge. He defeated Danny (36-2, 21 KOs) by a 12 round split decision in March 2017 in a competitive bout.

Thurman has a gift for speaking, and he’ll do all the hard work in getting fans interested in a second Pacquiao fight.

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