Keith Thurman believes Manny Pacquiao has a good chance of winning against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and will likely score a knockdown in their upcoming fight on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thurman, the WBA World welterweight champion, said that he knows Mayweather is the favorite to win in the upcoming fight, but he is strongly convinced that Pacquiao is not an easy foe for the reigning pound-for-pound king and has the tools to score a convincing victory.

Thurman told On The Ropes Boxing Radio that he will not bet his money against Mayweather, but Pacquiao will likely win if he prepares and execute well in the upcoming showdown.

The 26-year-old champion also added that Pacquiao, who holds a 57-5-2 record with 38 knockouts, has the power to send Mayweather down to the canvass, but that does not necessarily mean that Grand Rapids native will be hurt big time in the upcoming showdown.

"I've told people before talking about this fight, don't be surprised if Manny Pacquiao scores a knockdown," Thurman said. "You got to understand that scoring a knockdown doesn't always mean that the guy was really-really-really hurt. It just meant that you caught him at the right time, his feet were a certain way."

And if Pacquiao wants to win, Thurman, like most boxing analysts, believes he should go for the kill. If the fight goes the distance, Pacquiao will have a chance of scoring a decision victory if he manages to knock Mayweather down at least twice in the Cinco de Mayo weekend showdown.

"I think Manny is going to need a knock down, not just a knockdown, possibly more than one knockdown to win the fight," Thurman said. "I made that statement as well, that Manny Pacquiao needs at least two knockdowns to win the fight."

Pacquiao, who was best known for his combination of speed and punching power, has not scored a knockout win since stopping Miguel Cotto in the 12th round of their World Boxing Organization welterweight title fight in September 2009 in Las Vegas.

Since then, Pacquiao has been criticized for lack of killer instinct, but the former pound-for-pound king showed flashes of brilliance in his previous fight against Chris Algieri in November. He scored six knockdowns en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory to keep his WBO welterweight title.

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