The Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev WBO light heavyweight championship fight this weekend is attracting all of the big names in boxing including the four-time heavyweight champion of the world Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield who was in attendance at the weigh-ins to support his son Evan who will be making his pro debut on the undercard.
Holyfield was known for his tremendous heart in the ring, and his never say day attitude. So it is only natural that the former cruiserweight champion who was considered too small for the heavyweight division would consider Filipino 8-division world champion Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao his favorite active boxer.
With a small group of media surrounding Evander right outside of the weigh in, he answered many questions like who he thinks would win the Canelo vs. Kovalev bout on Saturday night, the time he sparred Andy Ruiz and his son’s journey into boxing.
One reporter asked Holyfield if Canelo wins against Kovalev on Saturday night should he go down in weigh to fight Manny Pacquiao because Floyd Mayweather fought the Mexican superstar before.
Holyfield laughed at the idea and responded by telling the reporter the size difference would be too much but at the same time praised the Filipino ring legend.
“He (Canelo) is too big. How is he going to fight Pacquiao?” asked Holyfield when a reporter asked him if Canelo should face Pacquiao next. “Manny don’t need him (Canelo). He is too strong for Manny.”
“I like Pacquiao. He is a good fighter. He is my favorite,” added Holyfield. “I like Pacquiao because the fact of the matter is he is humble, he does what he believes is right, and he is amazing.”
Holyfield couldn’t understand how Floyd Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao when the Filipino southpaw threw more punches in their 2015 bout.
“When he (Pacquiao) fought Mayweather have you ever seen someone throw more punches than Pacquiao?” asked Holyfield. “If anybody was counting the punches, the numbers don’t add up right. The point of the matter is Floyd got good defense, but don’t say he throws more punches because Pacquiao is the most busy fighter in the world. He is like that rabbit, the energizer bunny, that you turn up, he’s always punching. He really loves to fight and that is what people really like.”
Manny Pacquiao is currently vacationing with family in Korea and will likely return to the ring sometime early 2020. The rumored front runner is Mikey Garcia but nothing is official until team Pacquiao announces a fight for the WBA welterweight champion.
