Senator Manny Pacquiao said that his fight against Keith Thurman at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday could be compared to his historical match against Erik Morales in 2005.
In an interview after the WBA super welterweight title match, Pacquiao said that he didn’t underestimate Thurman because of his powerful jabs.
Pacquiao vs Morales is one of the most memorable fights of the Filipino Champ.
During their first meeting, Morales defeated Pacquiao via unanimous decision and the latter also sustained a severe cut in his eye.
Morales and Pacquiao meeting
The rivalry between Pacquiao and Morales turned into a trilogy where Pacquiao dominated their second and third meeting. However, the two fighters became friends and they both appeared in a beer commercial.
“Naalala ko ‘yung Morales fight, Morales 1,” he said.
“Kaya hindi ako nagkumpiyansa. Dahil malakas at mabigat rin (si Thurman). Hindi puwedeng i-underestime.” he added.
Meanwhile, there’s still confusion whether Pacquiao would attend the 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Duterte or not because of different answers from Pacman’s camp.
According to Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee, her husband received advice from his doctors to stay in the U.S until tomorrow to take a rest.
“Hindi na siya makakadalo sa Sona. Masakit ang mata now tsaka ‘di payag ang doctor. Makakauwi daw siya pede sa Sunday night pa,” Jinkee said.
However, Senate President Tito Sotto claimed that Pacquiao informed him that he would see him on Monday.
“Sabi nga niya ‘see you on Monday, boss’,” Sotto said
There’s also some news reports that Pacquiao might use a private plane to catch up with President Duterte’s SONA.