A former world champion whose sole career loss came against Manny Pacquiao is set to return to the ring.
‘Pac-Man’ got the better of many great fighters during his career, including the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto. The 46-year-old from the Philippines remains the only fighter in boxing history to win world titles in eight weight divisions.
Pacquiao last fought in August 2021 when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Although there appears to be no plans in place for the 46-year-old to return to the ring, the Filipino icon has hinted he could lace up the gloves one more time before drawing the curtain on his career once and for all.
Another fighter who tasted defeat at the hands of ‘Pac-Man’ is former unified welterweight champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, who lost his WBA welterweight crown to the former pound-for-pound star when they fought in 2019.
Despite being inactive since beating Mario Barrios in February 2022, Thurman spoke to Fight Hub TV and took aim at a number of potential welterweight rivals including Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who the 32-year-old claims is ‘not special’.
“Even with Boots Ennis, which is one of the top guys in the welterweight division, all these top guys just don’t feel that special. But this is like how it feels in boxing to me right now, that these guys are good but is there anybody special? I might as well just stay at a comfortable weight and move up in the division, so that when I get my chance to get a world title at 154, maybe there’s potential for Thurman v Charlo later this year, we don’t know.”
Thurman returns to the ring against Australia’s Brock Jarvis on March 12, in what will be the first ring appearance for ‘One Time’ in over 3-years.
