Former champ Keith “One Time” Thurman is in a pretty unique position of having fought both Mario Barrios and Manny Pacquiao. It is then quite obvious why Thurman’s take on what we are going to see when the two fight on July 19 is one well worth listening to. And, in speaking with FightHype, Thurman did indeed break the fight down.

Thurman, who defeated Barrios but was shocked by a 40-year-old Pacquiao, who knocked him down and won a close decision over him, said that a lot will depend on how Manny’s age affects him, but that if Pacquiao can “get in by using his in-step, he can hurt Barrios.”

Pacquiao’s Age: Thurman’s Key Factor

“It’s hard to know, with the age of Pacquiao, what we’re gonna get from him,” Thurman began. “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, that notorious fast in-step – if he can pop that and if he can get in, I know he can hurt Mario Barrios. I hurt Mario Barrios on multiple occasions, Tank [Davis] hurt him, so I know Pacquiao can hurt Barrios.

That’s the big thing in Pacquiao’s favor; Barrio was hurt against [Abel] Ramos, and that’s the thing, the defense of Barrio is still suspect. He’s not hard to find. But one thing I took away, even though I beat him, is that he has a really good jab. He used that jab when he beat [Yordenis] Ugas, and Ugas beat Pacquiao because he stayed long. So I think if Barrios works that jab of his, makes the old man use his legs and work really hard to get inside, I think he can pull it off.”

Some interesting stuff from Thurman. In a nutshell, if Pacquiao still has his speed and pop and his explosiveness, he can get in, and he can hurt Barrios and perhaps beat him that way. On the other hand, if Barrios keeps Pacquiao at a distance and punishes him with his jab and with other shots as Pac-Man tries to get inside, it could be a long night for Manny.

As Thurman said right at the start, it’s so hard to know what Pacquiao has got left at age 46, this after that four-year layoff. But Thurman is certainly giving Pacquiao a good chance of winning, and he is not laying into the fight by saying, as others have, that it’s a disgrace and it shouldn’t be happening given Manny’s age.

Say what you want about the Barrios-Pacquiao fight, but it sure has caught an absolute ton of attention and interest.