Keith Thurman and Manny Pacquiao meet tonight in perhaps the most hotly-anticipated event on the boxing calendar this summer.
At 40 years of age, Pacquiao is still a contender, proving he is still a force to be reckoned with after a superb victory over Adrien Broner in January.
But the red-hot welterweight division is now ruled by WBO champion Terence Crawford, IBF champion Errol Spence, WBA champion Shawn Porter and WBC king Thurman.
Their Las Vegas showdown will unify the WBA welterweight titles, with Pacquiao currently holding the ‘regular’ title, which is outranked by Thurman’s ‘Super’ belt.
The main event is almost here...
Follow all the action this evening with Standard Sport's LIVE blog!
Thurman vs Pacquiao TV channel and live stream
ITV Box Office will have exclusive coverage of the fight, available to Sky and Virgin Media customers for the price of £12.95.
A live stream of the show is also available through Fite TV for the same pric, including unlimited replays until July 27.
Click here to order an official LIVE stream through FITE TV.
Undercard coverage begins at 12am.
Date, UK start time and venue
Thurman vs Pacquiao takes on Saturday 20 July at one of boxing's great venues - the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
That location means it will be an early start for UK viewers - with ringwalks for the main event not expected to take place before 4:30am BST in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Prediction
Understandably after almost two years out, Thurman suffered from a bit of ring rust as he worked his way to victory against Lopez at the start of the year.
In that same contest, the Florida fighter took a couple of big shots from Lopez – while he has the chin and grit to take them, it shows he does leave himself open, something Pacquiao will look to take full advantage of.
But the 10 years that separate the two could be telling. Pacquiao showed against Broner last time out he is still an elite operator, but the younger, fresher man in the ring could take what is a true 50-50 fight.
Thurman to get the win via split decision.
Undercard
Thurman vs Pacquaio isn't the only title bout on Saturday. Caleb Plant (18-0) also puts his IBF super middleweight title on the line against Mike Lee.
- Caleb Plant vs Mike Lee
- Efe Ajagba vs Ali Eren Demirezen
- Luis Nery vs Juan Carlos Payano
- Sergey Lipinets vs John Molina Jr
- Yordenis Ugas vs Omar Figueroa Jr
