By Ponciano Melo Jr.
LOS ANGELES, California — With still less than a month before facing off undefeated Keith Thurman Jr. in the ring, the eight-division world champion, senator Manny Pacquiao is now almost at his top form.
His brother and congressman Bobby Pacquiao has confirmed.
"As we see his movement it is still fast. Right now, he's already at 89%," the former boxer, Bobby said in an interview.
The quickness of the Filipino pride will once again put to test against a much younger opponent as he vies to take the WBA Superwelterweight title on July 20th at the MGM Grand Arena.
The camp, however, said they haven't started his all-out training yet since they still got time to prepare and strategize against Thurman who is known for his heavy punches.
"We can't underestimate Thurman, he's very powerful. We're making techniques, we're making strategies to help Manny protect himself on their fight," he added.
Thurman has earned 29 wins with 22 knockouts in his no loss professional record while Manny won 61 times including 29 KOs.
Right now, they are continuing his daily training routine where they jog in the morning and head to the Wild card gym in the afternoon to improve his stamina and execute their game plan towards the upcoming fight.
Despite getting labeled as the underdog for his upcoming fight, hall of Famer and Pacquiao's longtime trainer Freddie Roach remains confident that Manny will give Thurman a fight to remember and tint the clean record of the American.
“This is a great matchup. Thurman has youth and size. I’m sure he will come into the ring with 160 pounds behind his big right hand. Manny will be under 150,” Roach said in a prior interview with the press.
“But we will have speed and movement. Winning this fight will come down to taking chances. Manny proved in his last two fights, against Matthysse and Broner, that he has his killer instinct back. Thurman better be prepared to shoot the works," he said.
Manny Pacquiao took some time off his grueling and intensifying training here as the Filipino boxing icon chose to rest for a day before heading back into the gym to continue the crucial stretch in his six-week training camp.
The temporary lull is no cause for concern though as the Pacman is putting in some extra work for his upcoming bout come July 20th against the undefeated American boxer.
The camp, which continued from Manila, is now kicking in high gear as Pacquiao is putting in all the work in the six-week training camp.
Pacquiao will be looking to deal Thurman's first pro defeat, banking on extra motivation as the man opposite him inside the squared circle in less than a month’s time vowed to “retire” the fighting Senator.
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Ponciano Melo writes another contributing article to Manila Standard Digital about Manny Pacquiao's upcoming fight against Keith Thurman. Melo is a freelance sports writer based in California, USA and has covered the NBA Finals, Boxing matches, and other sporting events in the United States.