Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao hasn’t stepped foot in the boxing ring since July of 2019 when he beat up Keith Thurman handing the American his first professional loss and capturing the WBA welterweight championship to make him the eldest man to win a welterweight title at 40-years-old.
Pacquiao also juggles jobs as a businessman and full-time politician in the Philippines and his initial plan was to return to the ring in April or May but those plans were sidelined due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and he now hopes he could return in July.
Many people were forced to stay at home and athletes and entertainers who rely on performing in front of packed venues are taking a big hit from this quarantine.
In the United States, they don’t know if it will ever be back to normal and are advising that large gatherings from sporting events to concerts won’t happen anytime soon due to social distancing guidelines put in place to prevent the further spread of the virus until the curve has flattened and a possible vaccine is secured which may take up to a year or more.
Three-division world champion Abner Mares is anxious to get back into the ring and hoping this coronavirus pandemic cools down so boxers including himself can resume their boxing careers.
One of Mares favorite boxers is the 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and he told reporter Elie Seckbach of ESNEWS that any fight Pacquiao is in will be a huge event, but the one he wants to see the Pac-Man fight next is against his former stablemate Mikey Garcia.
“Manny Pacquiao, the ball is in his court, he can do whatever he wants and all the fights will be big because he is the man,” Mares told ESNEWS.”I think right now the fight that people wanna see and I think is a pay-per-view by far is against Mikey Garcia. I think Mikey Garcia’s style and Pacquiao’s style is perfect for a big mega-fight and I really hope it happens.”
Pacquiao could only have two or three more fights left in him before hanging them up, and a fight with Mikey Garcia would be a fan friendly bout that could revive the Philippines vs. Mexico boxing rivalry and deliver fireworks in the ring.
