Manny Pacquiao Wins But Amir Khan May Not Get Chance With Looming Keith Thurman Rematch

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has done it again, turning back the hands of time to hand Keith Turman his first boxing career loss following a split decision victory at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It as a story of starting and finishing strong for the 40-year-old boxer-senator who also became the new WBA Super World Welterweight champion.

Pacquiao started strong, knocking down Thurman in the first round. The Pac-Man dominated in the early rounds while Thurman rallied in the middle rounds with timely hits on the fighting Filipino senator. In the end, it was the eight-division world champion who finished the fight strong leading to the judges' decision which caught some by surprise. According to the Associated Press, two judges scored the bout 115-112 for Pacquiao, while Glenn Feldman scored it 114-113 for Thurman.

Pacquiao, ever the gentleman he is, had good words for Thurman after the fight.

“My opponent is a good fighter and boxer. He was strong. … I think he did his best, and I did my best. I think we made the fans happy tonight because it was a good fight,” he said.

On the other end, Thurman admitted that the fight was close but admitted that the first-round knockdown allowed his opponent to gain momentum.

“He had the momentum because he got the knockdown in Round 1. … I wish I had a little bit more output to go toe to toe. My conditioning, my output was just behind Manny Pacquiao’s tonight. Tonight was a blessing and a lesson,” said Thurman who suffered his first defeat in 31 fights.

Thurman had no qualms about the outcome, graciously accepting defeat. However, the former unified welterweight champion called for a rematch - to which the pro-Pacquiao crowd in attendance approved. Based on his performance, there is no doubt that critics that Thurman has earned a second shot at the future boxing Hall of Famer.

And if that is the case, it may be bad news for Amir Khan. As mentioned in a previous post, the Bolton fighter initially claimed that Pacquiao was all set to fight him later this year. That claim would be rebuffed by Team Pacquiao although the32-year-old could have a better chance to negotiate following the Pacquiao vs. Thurman fight. But as things stand now, it looks like Khan will have to wait a bit longer and hope that the Pac-Man is still interested in a potential clash in the ring.