It’s been over a year since Keith “One Time” Thurman has stepped into the boxing ring.
In his last fight he suffered his first professional loss at the hands of a 40-year-old Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao who took the former undefeated champion’s WBA welterweight world title, making him the oldest man to hold a world title at 147-pounds.
After the fight, Thurman had to get surgery done on his hand from a preexisting injury he had before the fight.
Then the COVID-19 global pandemic happened and made his return to the ring in 2020 less likely due to the restrictions on large gatherings due to the contagious virus and most events being put on hold.
During quarantine the Florida native has stayed busy by doing interviews talking to various media outlets and training at home.
In a recent interview with AHAT TV, he was asked who had the better legacy Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao.
Thurman chased a fight with Mayweather but ultimately landed a bout with Pacquiao. He gave an honest assessment of the two fighters contrasting approaches to their boxing careers and compared Pacquiao to the late Muhammad Ali.
“It’s hard to say, I want to say its almost a preference,” Thurman said. “Floyd ended undefeated. Pacquiao, he lived the Muhammad Ali life. You win some, you lose some, and you win again. You just show how it’s a never ending story like how Ali told everybody, “I’m gonna show you how great I am, they knocked me down, they knocked me out, but I’m still gonna show you how great I am.” That’s what Pacquiao did he lived the Ali life.
Thurman continued to praise Pacquiao for his risk taking and believes his feat of winning titles in eight different weight divisions will never be replicated.
“Floyd he did a little bit more of a pretty boy aspect. A little bit more in controlled settings. Didn’t always fight the toughest fight of his career at that time. Like I say man when it comes to athleticism and when it comes to all those weight classes, I’m probably about 100 percent right when I say nobody will ever do what Pacquiao did ever again. I’m probably 100 percent right. It’s very unlikely, and a lot of people don’t have the opportunity. A lot of people really don’t have the speed and power to go through that many weight classes. And a lot of times once when they do they are going to find their limit and their gonna get hurt and then after they get hurt they’re normally going to put themselves back in a more comfortable situation, Pacquiao never did that. Like I said, been knocked down, been knocked out, still going to show you how great I am. That is what Pacquiao did, he made history. He made a type of history that will most likely never be repeated.”
