Filipino boxing legend, Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, hasn’t fought since dethroning formerly undefeated WBA welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman in July.
Pacquiao will turn 41 on December 17, 2019 and he is already the oldest welterweight champion in the history of boxing.
With time ticking away the fiery Filipino southpaw is in a no-win situation with father time, but he has shown even at his age he is still capable of beating some of the younger fighters in the welterweight division.
The main opponent trainer Freddie Roach was targeting for Pacquiao’s next fight was former two-division world champion Danny Garcia, but news broke that Garcia will now take on Ivan Redkach on January 25, 2020, so that leaves the Philadelphia fighter off the list for now.
The other names on the short list are Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence Jr, and the long shot Floyd Mayweather, who recently announced he is coming out of retirement to fight next year.
Unified WBC/IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. could also be off the list since he crashed his white Ferrari 488 Spider in October and was momentarily hospitalized. Shortly after Spence was released from the hospital he was charged with a DWI and could be out of the picture for a while.
Even though reports suggest he suffered no serious injures or broken bones in the accident, it would be well advised for Spence to take a tune-up fight before stepping back into the ring against a ferocious puncher like Pacquiao.
A Floyd Mayweather rematch is the one fight Manny Pacquiao wants the most but the likelihood of that happening is slim.
UFC President Dana White was on the Jim Rome Show and said he will work with Floyd Mayweather in 2020, that could mean the undefeated boxing star might face another UFC fighter in his return.
Mayweather last fought in the boxing ring when he took on Irish UFC superstar Conor McGregor in 2017. He stopped McGregor in the tenth round in a fight that sold over 4 million PPV buys. Mayweather said he is interested in doing more exhibition bouts like the one he had at RIZIN 14 when he knocked out a much smaller Japanese kickboxer named Tenshin Nasukawa.
Mayweather has led Pacquiao on with hopes of a rematch only to shoot them down so fans shouldn’t count on that fight happening soon unless there is an official announcement.
That leaves once beaten four-division champion Mikey Garcia as the most possible opponent for Pacquiao.
Mikey Garcia has been open to a fight with Pacquiao in the past and could be next in line for a shot at the WBA champion should he agree to face the fighting Filipino Senator next year.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Mikey Garcia will also reignite the Philippines vs Mexico boxing rivalry that made Pacquiao a star in the featherweight division.
The fight would be easy to make since Mikey is a free agent and it would also be one of those all action events that would entertain fans.
