Pacquiao battling age, hungry Thurman in title showdown

Twenty-four years after first climbing into a professional boxing ring, Manny Pacquiao will attempt to defy the march of time here Saturday when he battles undefeated American Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight crown.

The 40-year-old Filipino icon clashes with Thurman at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in what is arguably his most challenging assignment since losing to Floyd Mayweather in 2015's money-spinning "Fight of the Century".

Pacquiao, who has managed to successfully juggle a political career in the Philippines while continuing to box at a high level, looked sharp in his last outing in January, a unanimous decision against Adrien Broner.

But the eight-division world champion is facing an altogether higher-calibre opponent in the shape of Thurman, renowned as one of the hardest punchers in the welterweight division with 22 knockouts in 30 fights.

Thurman, who at 30 years old is a full decade younger than Pacquiao, sees Saturday as an attempt to build his legacy, and has bluntly vowed to send the Filipino into retirement.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to destroy a legend," Thurman declared, placing Pacquiao in the boxing pantheon alongside some of the sport's greatest practitioners.

"It's as if I'm fighting Sugar Ray Robinson or Roberto Duran," Thurman said.

"This is Manny Pacquiao. It's a tremendous feeling, and it's going to feel even greater when my hand is raised at the end of the night."
- 'Nothing personal' -
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"For me nothing is personal," Pacquiao said. "Our job is to fight. He has to prove something, and I have to prove something. It's easy to say things. But it's not so easy to do it in the ring."
"I would love a collision because Manny will beat him to the punch every time. One guy is fast, one guy is slow. Thurman hits hard but he has no speed at all. I don't see him being able to get close to Manny because of his speed."
- Time to quit? -
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"Usually it doesn't show up in the gym. It only shows up in the fight. And I'm very aware of that. And if it does show in the fight I'll be the first one to stop the fight if need be."
"At one time I'd have said our agreement was pretty solid and he'd listen to me. But today I'm not so sure."