Welterweight boxing champion Keith Thurman must like his name because he sure says it a lot — as in “When Keith Thurman steps in the ring, you’re dealing with Keith Thurman and he’s a baaaaad man.”

Or, “I fight in the ring wearing red, white and blue because when Keith Thurman is in the ring he’s living the American dream.”

Speaking in the third person comes easy to Thurman because no one is better at promoting himself than Keith Thurman. You’ll probably hear his name more often if all goes well for him on July 20 when he defends his WBA welterweight championship against the Hall-of-Fame bound Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight will be shown on Fox Sports pay-per-view.

Thurman, unbeaten in 29 fights with 22 knockouts, was on the verge of establishing himself as the best welterweight in boxing before injuries kept him out of the ring for nearly two years. Upon his return, the 147-pound division is now cluttered with other budding super stars in IBF champion Errol Spence Jr., WBO champion Terence Crawford and WBC belt-holder Shawn Porter, with Danny Garcia waiting for a chance to recapture a welterweight crown.

Thurman figures a victory over Pacquiao, a world champion in eight different weight divisions, will put him back at the top of the list.

“I wanted this fight six years ago at the MGM Grand,” Thurman said this week. “I just always thought it would be a beautiful fight and I wanted the opportunity. It just shows dreams do come true.”

The 30-year-old Thurman, from Clearwater, Fla., is 10 years younger than Pacquiao, who turned 40 in December. Some thought Pacquiao was finished after he lost to Jeff Horn in Australia in July 2017. But the senator from the Philippines has rebounded with victories over Lucas Matthysse and Adrien Broner.

Pacquiao had hoped to get a rematch with Floyd Mayweather after losing by unanimous decision to him in 2015, but couldn’t draw “Money” out of retirement. The fight with Thurman was set up after Thurman needed a majority decision to get past Josesito Lopez last January. That was Thurman’s first fight since 2017 following elbow and hand injuries.

There were times a ring-rusty Thurman was wobbled against Lopez, especially in the seventh round, but he managed to pull out the win.

“I take certain challenges to prove I can fight out of tough situations,” Thurman said. “I think I proved Keith Thurman [has courage]. As long as you don’t stop me, I’m going to come out like the champion I am. I’m a real fighter and Manny Pacquiao is going to get a piece of it.”

It would be ideal for the welterweight division to have an undisputed champion to prove which one is the best between Spence, Crawford, Porter, Thurman and Pacquiao. Thurman feels he should be ranked No. 1, having beaten Porter and Garcia, the former WBC champion.

“I think Keith Thurman is the new Manny Pacquiao,” Thurman said, speaking in third person again. “I was two years out of the game and I still hold the best record in the 147-pound division. You can throw shots and criticism at me if you want. But I bring entertainment to welterweight division.”

Eyebrows were raised when it was learned the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency would not be conducting random drug testing for the Thurman-Pacquiao fight. Instead, the Nevada Athletic Commission is in charge of the testing. Thurman doesn’t seem to be concerned.

“I’ve always been a clean fighter,” he said. “I’ve been tested throughout my boxing career whenever they so deem it. It might not be as thorough as other fights as far as constantly popping up in camp. But there has been testing.”

Then he added: “I always say, ‘Take steroids if you want.’ You might actually need it. I don’t really care.”

That’s because Keith Thurman thinks Keith Thurman is a baaaaad man.