Manny Pacquiao vs Keith Thurman On The Horizon?

The Welterweight division, at least among the PBC fighters, is an open table right now. As it stands today Errol Spence Jr, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao, Mikey Garcia, and Sergey Lipinets have all finished up fights over the last two months, and currently do not have any opponents lined up. Danny Garcia and Jessie Vargas will both fight in April as well. Should both of them win they could be added to the mix.

This class of talented fighters will likely go up against each soon enough. Rumors are swirling as to who will be facing each other next. One fight that is being tossed around is Manny Pacquiao vs Keith Thurman. There are signs pointing to this fight happening next (as long as Floyd Mayweather doesn't decide to come out of retirement to face Pacquiao). Two weeks ago Errol Spence Jr dominated Mikey Garcia. After the victory Spence Jr brought Pacquiao into the ring. They verbally agreed that they were ready to face each other next. However, one week later Manny Pacquiao put out a fan poll that left Spence Jr out of the mix. The options that Pacquiao allowed his fans to pick from were Floyd Mayweather, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia. Of the 80,000+ votes Pacquiao's poll received Floyd Mayweather was a clear favorite getting 73% of the votes.

Somewhere between that verbally agreement with Spence Jr in the ring and the day Pacquiao decided to run this poll Errol Spence Jr. was taken out of the running to face Pacquiao. There was also talk that Shawn Porter would be facing Errol Spence Jr next. If that fight is a go, and Floyd Mayweather doesn't decide he wants a nine figure payday, then Manny Pacquiao is likely to face Keith Thurman next. Thurman is a big name that would do well on PPV. It's also an intriguing match-up as Thurman has shown vulnerability in his last couple fights. Pacquiao has also shown interest in facing Thurman while Thurman has called out Pacquiao his last couple fights.

While signs are pointing to a Thurman-Pacquiao showdown...this is Boxing. Anything can change. Manny Pacquiao against Spence Jr, Porter, and Garcia are all also good fights leaving fans for a treat for whomever Pacquiao decides to face next.