Jul 20, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Manny Pacquiao (white trunks) lands a hit against Keith Thurman (red/white/blue trunks) during their WBA welterweight championship bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
(Reuters) – Manny Pacquiao beat defending champion Keith Thurman on a split points decision on Saturday to take the WBA Welterweight Super Championship in Las Vegas.
Two judges scored it 115-112 to Pacquiao and another gave it 114-113 to Thurman, who suffered his first defeat in 30 fights.
Thurman had vowed to beat the 40-year old Filipino into retirement, but he was behind from the first round at the MGM Grand.
The 30-year old American had a height, reach, weight and age advantage over the Filipino but he got knocked down with less than a minute to go in the first round and was chasing the fight thereafter.
Thurman started to bleed from his nose in the fifth round and looked beaten but he recovered in the middle of the fight before Pacquiao stormed back to take the last few rounds.
Pacquiao, whose speed and stamina belied his age in a highly entertaining fight, is the only man in boxing history to hold world titles in eight different divisions.
His win takes his record to 62-7-2 with 39 knockouts. Thurman falls to 29-1 (22 KOs).
Reporting by Andrew Downie; editing by Sudipto Ganguly/Greg Stutchbury