Jul 19, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Manny Pacquiao (left) and Keith Thurman pose after weighing in for their WBA welterweight world title boxing fight against at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Keith Thurman Reveals 'Suspect' Way Manny Pacquiao Can Beat Mario Barrios

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 6:01 PM ET

Manny Pacquiao's most recent professional victory came against Keith Thurman on July 20, 2019, when he won by split decision that resulted in the first (and only) loss in Thurman's professional career.

Thurman then took several years off boxing before returning to face Mario Barrios on February 5, 2022. He beat Barrios by unanimous decision in that fight, thus giving Barrios the second loss of his professional career (he had lost to Gervonta "Tank" Davis right before that bout).

Thurman having faced both Pacquiao and Barrios makes him uniquely qualified to speak on how their July 19 bout might go down. And during a July 4 interview with FightHype, Thurman detailed an interesting way that Pacquiao could emerge victorious.

Manny Pacquiao Dropped Keith Thurman in Round 1. After Thurman got off to a good start Pacquiao punished him for overcommitting

Pacquiao went on to win a 12 Round Split-Decision which should have been Unanimous. Where does this Pacquiao victory rank amongst his greatest Wins? pic.twitter.com/5Tj3WruFVR
— Hamed (@HamedBoxing) April 17, 2025

"It's hard to know, [with] the age of Pacquiao, what we're going to get from him," Thurman said. "But I'll tell you this: Depending on his conditioning, depending on how much he can pop in on that in-step that he brought to me... if he can get in on that in-step, and if Pacquiao can get in, I know he can hurt Mario Barrios."

He then added, "I think that's the one thing in Pacquiao's favor. Mario Barrios was hurt against Ramos. That's the thing. The defense of Mario Barrios is still suspect. He is there, he is willing to get caught. You can catch the kid. He's not hard to find."

Thurman then continued by saying that if Barrios ultimately stays long and can pepper Pacquiao with his jab, getting him to move his feet and get tired, he thinks the victory will belong to Barrios, and that was his ultimate prediction for who will win.