The Filipino ring legend, Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, is fulfilling his political duties as a Senator in the Philippines but he still has boxing on his mind.
The 41-year-old WBA welterweight champion hasn’t fought since dethroning the undefeated American Keith Thurman to win the title back in July of 2019.
During an interview with ANC News in the Philippines, Pacquiao told the host his plans and list of potential foes for his first title defense.
“There’s a lot of possible opponents. Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence or (Terence) Crawford, also boxers from Canada and Mexico who want to fight with me,” Pacquiao told ANC News.
The Filipino Senator said Errol Spence and Mikey Garcia are the top two opponents on his list and gave his assessment of both fighters.
“My assessment is Spence is the kind of boxer that can move and is a slugger. If we are going to fight, I need more focus on strategy, hand speed and footwork also.
“Mikey Garcia that is a different style compared to Errol Spence,” said Pacquiao. “Mikey Garcia is a brawler. He is aggressive. So there are different techniques we need to apply on that fight.”
Pacquiao revealed he stays in shape by playing basketball and hasn’t done any boxing training.
The 8-division-champion gave a timeline of when he would likely get back in the boxing ring.
“My plan is to fight again and get back in the ring this coming July. Second or third week of July. Training should start in April, May, June we have enough time,” said an eager Pacquiao.
Promoters Bob Arum and Eddie Hearn have been vocal about trying to get Pacquiao into the ring with one of their fighters.
Top Rank promotions boss Bob Arum who promoted Pacquiao for the majority of his US fights, wants him to fight undefeated WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford for a title unification.
Hearn of Matchroom boxing wants his fighter Mikey Garcia, who just recently beat Jessie Vargas, to face Pacquiao in Saudi Arabia in the summer.
Another name out there is UFC star Conor McGregor who has shown interest in boxing the Filipino sports icon. Pacquiao recently signed with Paradigm Sports Management the same team that handles McGregor, so that is another potential big money showdown.
