A potential WBA welterweight title showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman is inching closer to reality, per a report from Mike Coppinger.
Coppinger reported that Pacquiao and Thurman are close to a deal that would have the two fight for the WBA title on July 20 in Las Vegas. The venue that is under consideration for the fight, which would headline a Fox pay-per-view even, is the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
SOURCES: Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman are closing in on a deal for a FOX PPV welterweight title bout that’s being pegged for July 20 in Las Vegas. There doesn’t appear to be any big hurdles to clear in completing deal. Big-time fight this summer
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) April 24, 2019
Pacquiao signed with Premier Boxing Champions late last year and his first fight under the new deal took place in January, also a pay-per-view fight. Pacquiao defeated Adrien Broner in the main event with the card reportedly selling around 400,000 pay-per-view units. Pacquiao has held the WBA's secondary title since last summer when he knocked out Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia.
Thurman would be making his pay-per-view debut, but has been one of the top television draws in the United States in recent years. Thurman's 2017 fight against Danny Garcia peaked at 5.1 million viewers, but was out of action for nearly two years after that bout. Thurman returned to the ring this past January, defeating Josesito Lopez in the main event of a PBC on Fox card from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Prior to the fight against Lopez, Thurman told Fightful in a conference call that he would love to have a chance to fight Manny Pacquiao if he came out victorious against Lopez.
