by Dane McGuire
In case you missed it, one of the modern-day greats of boxing is set to make his return to the ring for the first time in nearly three years. He goes by “PacMan”.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports broke the news yesterday that Manny Pacquiao’s return to action will be on Aug. 21 in Las Vegas. Pacquiao will face Errol Spence Jr. in a welterweight title fight. The bout will be in Las Vegas, but the venue hasn’t been decided, Sean Gibbons, the president of MP Promotions, told Yahoo Sports.
Despite the announcement, Pacquiao’s fans shouldn’t get their hopes up too much when it comes to his long-term plans in the sport. He doesn’t have any.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freedie Roach told boxing media outlets in 2020 that Pacquaio, also a politician in his native Philippines as noted by Gibbons, only has up to a couple bouts left in him. Pacquio has already announced his intention to run for president in 2022.
“He will fight again, I feel, and from when I’ve talked to him, he wants to fight once or twice more. But the thing is, it could be anywhere from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, anywhere. They were talking about Mikey Garcia and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the perfect fight for Manny,” Roach said at the time.
Pacquiao has retired from boxing once before in 2016 to successfully become a senator. He returned in the same year to face Jessie Vargas, winning the contest by unanimous decision. The Vargas fight started a 4-1 comeback run that lasted until his split decision win against Keith Thurman in July 2019.
Previously, Pacquaio had been in talks to fight Mikey Garcia before discussion stalled. Pacquiao is 62-7-2 with 39 KOs. Iole noted that in no way is the veteran being handed a “gimme fight” in his return, noting Spence Jr. is a “2012 U.S. Olympian, is 27-0 with 21 knockouts and is one of the world’s elite pound-for-pound fighters.”
“I have always wanted to challenge myself and take the biggest fights,” Pacquiao said. “Errol Spence is an unbeaten champion and those are the kinds of fights I want.”
“Unlike Floyd Mayweather, who wants to beat up YouTube stars, even at 42, the Senator is looking to fight the best in the world,” Gibbons said. “Floyd’s style may have beaten Manny’s style, but the Senator’s body of work is unmatched. He wins a title at 40 years old, beating one of the best welterweights in the world, and now at 42, he’s going to defend that belt. He’s got a legacy that is unmatched.”
Iole reported the fight with Spence will be promoted by Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions and will be a Fox Sports and PBC pay-per-view.
Cage Nation will have more information concerning Pacquiao vs. Spence as it is announced in the coming months.