Keith Thurman was praised for his initial reaction in congratulating Manny Pacquiao when inflicting his first career defeat last month.
Thurman was gracious despite losing his ‘0’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Speaking inside the arena, Thurman told fans: “I knew it was too close. He got the knockdown so he had momentum in round one.
“I want to thank the fans for coming out. This was a beautiful night of boxing.
“I wish I had a little bit more output to go toe to toe. I felt like he was getting a little bit tired, but he did have experience in the ring.
“My conditioning and my output was just behind Manny Pacquiao’s. I would love the rematch.
“You get blessings and lessons. Tonight was a blessing and a lesson. Thank you everybody, and thank you Manny Pacquiao.”
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and the American has gone on the offensive in chasing that elusive second fight with the Filipino Senator.
Pacquiao and his representative Sean Gibbons have both been vocal in wanting another crack at Floyd Mayweather.
The eight-weight ruler is in the form of his life at 40 years old. The next logical step seems a no-brainer if Mayweather, 42, can be persuaded before he’s far too old.
Gibbons had told the Philippine Star: “No. Nothing to prove. (Keith Thurman) had his shot (on July 20, and lost). Game over.
“Horn who? Another desperate guy. “We want Floyd. We want Mayweather (in a rematch).”
REMATCH
Those words obviously irked Thurman, who has since hit back in a chat with TMZ.com this weekend.
“At the end to the day, nobody wants to see it (the Mayweather v Pacquiao rematch).
“Real fight fans know, it ain’t gonna be more exciting then what Keith Thurman just did (against Pacquiao).”
Being on the wrong end of a split decision against Pacquiao won’t be too detrimental to Thurman’s career.
Big fights are out there, like another battle with Danny Garcia or even a meeting with Mikey Garcia.
Should Pacquiao fail to lure Mayweather out of retirement, a warm-up bout for the winner of Errol Spence v Shawn Porter in 2020 looks likey for November or December.
