Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman: Pacquiao media call highlights

Manny Pacquiao was calm as ever while talking to the media via conference call a little more than a week before his big bout against Keith Thurman.

Keith Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs) has been vicious towards Manny Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) in the buildup to their July 20 welterweight clash. If Pacquiao was enraged by Thurman’s comments and actions, he hid it well during his July 11 media conference call.

Pacquiao is known for being a gentleman and always keeping his cool, but Thurman has taken his trash talk to a whole new level throughout the press campaign for their fight including threatening to crucify Pacquiao figuratively.

When asked about Thurman’s harsh comments, Pacquiao said, “I’m not angry at him. I’m somebody that’s motivated by all he says. He made my mom, she get mad. It’s giving me more motivation to focus the training, to focus my condition, how hard I push through the training. Believe me, this is a very interesting fight for me because its been a long time that I never focused like this.”

Pacquiao’s career consists of 70 total bouts, 474 rounds that have spanned over 24 years. At 40 years old, Pacquiao knows that people doubt his chances against Thurman, but he feels like he has to prove them wrong.

“We know that a lot of fans and people of boxing doubt my capability at the age of 40,” said Pacquiao. “I have to prove something in this time because, at the age of 40, I’m not thinking about my age. I’m thinking about what I can go through to the fans.”

When asked about why he still fights and his motivation to continue in the sport, Pacquiao gave a surprising answer.

“I really love exercise,” returned Pacquiao.  “I’m addicted to exercise and even at the age of five, every day I exercise and playing [sic] basketball for to five hours almost every day. Win this time comes, and I have a scheduled fight, then I’m forcing myself to work hard, to train hard, and to focus to the fight.”

It would be easy to see how a loss at 40 would encourage Pacquiao to retire, but in the event of a loss, Pacquiao has no plans to hang up his gloves.

“I’m still okay,” said Pacquiao. “I can still fight. My body’s reaction is okay. Everything is fine, and that’s a big favor from God. It is a blessing.”

Pacquiao has his chance to defy youth against Thurman on Saturday, July 20. The main event is pay-per-view, and it begins at 9 p.m. ET.