I didn't think it would be close and I thought he would stop Thurman. Pacquiao won clean and clear but it was very close if he didn't land that bodyshot late in the fight he may very well have broken down from exhaustion. Thurman was landing more as Pac got more tired and when the fight ended, he was more relieved than excited. The experience got him through but he should 100% retire now or fight an easy fight in the Philippines as a send-off. The only reason this fight was close was not because of skills, speed, footwork or anything like that, it was simply lack of stamina that comes with age. Pac was dominating the first 5 rounds and in his prime would have stopped Thurman inside 5. As I said, there are levels to this game and as Bradley said, Pac's B, C game is better than everyone's A game. I don't think Thurman looked bad, he looked his usual self, he just got folded to the body and he has never reacted well to those at any point in his career. This also proves that Pac has an iron chin and amazing recovery powers. I don't know how many power punchers he need to fight to prove that. Ever since he got KO'd by a roided to the gills JMM who was fighting him for the 4th time with a perfect shot, everyone thinks that a clean right hand is all it takes. I think Pac and his team knows Pac shouldn't be fighting at this level anymore, that was his last hurrah!
His stanina was fine thurman just made some adjustments in the second half of the fight. Congrats on the win great performance by pac he proved me wrong. I think he needs to stay away from Spence and fight lipinets next.
Definitely. He should retire on this high note. He would have kept an even faster pace for 12 rounds if needed in his prime. He looked old (but still good) the second half.
Still good but not good as it was as he fail to finish thurman in the 10th although thurman could also be credited for being tough
This is exactly what I commented on another thread. I felt I watched two fights in one match: Rounds 1-5 where Manny essentially blitzkrieg-ed Keith. Then in rounds 6 and onward, the pace slowed considerably. And like I also said, except for when he had Keith hurt again in round 10, Pacquiao fought at a slower, measured pace. It is either his endurance has decreased or he just changed tactics. But yes, the former thought of him losing his stamina came to mind.
Pac look exhausted at points and he would take breathers on the ropes in the early rounds. He did punch himself out but in his prime he would've had little issue maintaining that pace for 12 rounds.
I think Spence stops Manny late in a good fight but only if Spences chin is able to withstand the early barrage. Thurman made adjustments but Manny cant keep the pace like he used to. Thats clear as day.
He had Thurman BADLY hurt twice, and he couldn't even put the pressure on. When you're so tired that you're using that moment to recover rather than put the pressure on, that's the ultimate sign that your stamina is gone. Look at his output, his arm punches, his legs. The man is shot. Reminds me of a shot Duran still pulling off that last hurrah, or a shot old fat Morales schooling Maidana and Garcia and if he only just had that bit more stamina.
I actually was concerned about his stamina in the latter part of the fight. After he hurt Thurman badly with that body shot (I believe in the 10th,) he didn't follow it up with anything. Granted, Thurman started to move around the ring a lot but a younger version of Pacman would've jumped in for the kill. He built up a very nice lead for himself in the first half of the fight and didn't need to do much else afterwards. I thought 116-112 was an appropriate scoring; he did win a few of those rounds in the back 6 of the fight.
Pac beats Spence clearly in his prime, too much stamina, too much feet, too much speed and everything else. Today, he gets wrecked by Spence inside 8. The way Spence put it on Garcia, no way Pac can take that kind of pressure and even though Porter is tailor made for Pac, his workrate alone would beat Pac. If Thurman wasn't caught to the body, he would have edged this fight.
I think pac would do good early against spence as he can be a slow starter but he would break pac down over the course of the fight i really dont want to see it. I think pac should fight lipinets next in the phillipines and call it a day
He hit a significant wall after about the fifth. He didn't have the pep in his step or snap in his shots anymore. His guard became fairly loose in the second half of the fight as well. He was looking absolutely punchy at times in the second half of the fight when Thurman was landing flush. I thought Buboy was trying to wave it off when the one round ended.
You mean how Pac beat Marquez? By laying flat on his face sleeping? Spence is much bigger and hits much harder than Marquez. Spence would beat Pac no problem no matter when they fought.
