Senator Manny Pacquiao said that he didn’t underestimate his opponent Keith Thurman during their match for the WBA super welterweight crown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday.
According to the Filipino Champ, Thurman’s performance during their fight made him cautious.
“Hindi ako nag kompyansa, malakas siya,” Pacquiao said.
“Ilang beses din akong nahilo,” he added.
Thurman landed his fist against Pacquiao several times, but not enough to knock out the 40-year-old fighter.
Pacquiao believed that the people were satisfied with the performance of Thurman during the fight.
“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.” Pacquiao said.
“Thurman… he did his best, he’s not an easy opponent. He’s a good boxer, he’s strong, and I’m just blessed tonight,” he also said.
Thurman has an explanation why he loses against Pacquiao despite his preparation to push the Filipino champ into “retirement”.
“He got the knockdown, so he had momentum in round 1,” said Thurman.
“My conditioning and my output was just behind Manny Pacquiao,” he added. “But it was a great night of boxing, and I would love a rematch.” he added.
It’s not yet known if Pacquiao wanted to have a rematch with Thurman, saying that he would focus on his job as a Senator for the rest of the year.