Manny Pacquiao? I’ll bet US$10,000 I KO him inside two rounds, says Keith Thurman
- Unbeaten American hits back after Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach claims he’ll make ‘a huge score’ betting on the Filipino icon
- ‘Manny better get me before I get him – that’s his only option,’ says Thurman
Keith Thurman has boasted he will bet US$10,000 on himself knocking out Manny Pacquiao in the first or second round when they meet on July 20 in Las Vegas.
“One Time” made the claim in response to comments by Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who said he will make “a huge score” betting on the Filipino eight-division world champion.
“I don’t think it’s a good bet, but you gotta believe in your fighters,” unbeaten American Thurman told TMZ. “I’m gonna put some money down on the fight too. Man let’s go for the first or second round knockout, why not?
“You don’t wanna just make money, I don’t wanna bet straight up. I gotta bet on the KO. How about 10k a round? At least that’s motivation. I can’t go through minutes going tap, tap, tap when I got 10k on the round. I gotta swing a few times, you gotta try to hit a home run. Round one and two baby.”
Bookmakers have installed 30-year-old Thurman (29-0-0, 22 KOs) as the slight favourite ($1.72) against Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs), who is $2.1 to reign victorious at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
It’s the first time the 40-year-old has been an underdog since he fought Floyd Mayweather in 2015, and he hasn’t been the ranked outsider since his 2008 win against Oscar De La Hoya, when he was $9 to win by stoppage. De La Hoya famously quit on his stool at the end of the eighth round, with Pacquiao becoming a superstar.