Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Terence Crawford ... who will Manny Pacquiao fight in 2020?
- ‘Pac Man’ linked to rematch with Mayweather Jnr as he enters his 25th year of professional boxing
- Boxing fans cringe as the eight-weight division champion seems most keen on Irish MMA star Conor McGregor
Flyweight, super-bantamweight, featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight, super-lightweight, welterweight, super welterweight. Filipino boxing legend and senator Manny Pacquiao welcomes his 25th year in professional boxing this year having already won 12 world titles across a record eight weight divisions. He has nothing to prove – and likely lots to govern back home – but the 41-year-old is showing no signs of stopping and enters 2020 with a tasty list of potential match-ups.
Pacquiao (professional boxing record 62-7-1) has undergone an impressive career resurgence since his shock loss to Australian Jeff Horn in 2017. After a successful tune-up fight against Lucas Matthysse in 2018, he humbled former champion Adrien Broner and defeated then-undefeated Keith Thurman to win another WBA title in 2019. Pacquiao now finds himself near the top of the divisional and pay-per-view rankings with the likes of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor circling.
Whether or not this is Pacquiao’s last year in boxing – this will be his fourth decade as a champion – manager Sean Gibbons told The Athletic that the southpaw is scheduling a return for April and would “welcome Floyd Mayweather [Jnr] or Conor McGregor as his next opponent.”
1. Conor McGregor (0-1, professional MMA record 22-4)
The UFC’s Irish superstar McGregor is fresh off a career-comeback win against Donald Cerrone last week and has been throwing names of potential opponents throughout the new year. Although many initially scoffed at the idea of McGregor vs Pacquiao, it appears the pair’s teams have been in talks. Pacquiao even fired out a tweet simply captioned, “The Notorious!!!” after the 31-year-old starched Cerrone.
Manager Gibbons also hinted to CNN that the bout could take place at NFL team Oakland Raiders’ new stadium expected to open in August. No smoke without fire.
2. Floyd Mayweather Jnr (50-0) rematch
Pacquiao has surely had a few sleepless nights dwelling over his unanimous decision loss to fellow boxing great Mayweather in 2015. Deemed the “fight of the century”, the pair shattered all pay-per-view records despite the fight coming about five years too late. Five years on and the tables have turned as Mayweather assumes the rusty old-timer role while Pacquiao looks the tricky veteran.
The only obstacle is that Mayweather is notorious for his dollar-sign eyes when picking fights and a money-fight boxing rematch with “The Notorious” McGregor is certainly easier than one with the Pacman.
3. Errol Spence Jnr (20-0)
“I took some time off and now I think I’m rejuvenated,” Spence Jnr told World Boxing News. “I’m ready to get back in the gym and train hard and hopefully fight one of the top fighters. I don’t want a tune-up fight. I want to fight Pacquiao or Danny Garcia if he wins his fight.”
It is interesting to note that Pacquiao is now with super-promoter Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions – the same promotion that Spence Jnr fights under.
4. Danny Garcia (35-2)
Former champion Garcia must get past Ivan Redkack next week in what was originally a bout with the injured Spence Jnr. If he does, then his dream of a pay-per-view bout with Pacquiao may just turn into reality.
“With Manny, I feel like my counter punching and style would also be hard for him, so I like my chances,” the 31-year-old Garcia told World Boxing News.
While Garcia has a 2-2 record from his last two fights, this would be a favourable fight for boxing fans and perhaps a last-effort tune-up for a super-fight later in the year.
5. Terence Crawford (36-0)
WBO welterweight champion Crawford has indisputably emerged as one of the sport’s greats. The only issue here is money as Crawford still lacks name power and media personality to the casual viewers.
A fight between the undefeated 32-year-old, who is contracted under Bob Arum’s Top Rank, and Haymon-led Pacquiao may be a spanner in the works as the promoters have clashed in the past.
6. Keith Thurman (29-1) rematch
This one is an easy sell – for Thurman, at least. The former WBA and WBC champion’s split-decision loss to Pacquiao in July last year is the only professional career loss. The 31-year-old Thurman continues to recover from post-fight hand surgery but is willing to wait for a rematch. He even told Fight Hub TV that Pacquiao should “tread lightly” in the welterweight division after the loss.
“I need to make that phone call in the near future,” Thurman told Boxing News 24. “If I was to ever get into the ring as soon as possible, only a rematch would make me excited enough to do that ... I would love that rematch and I would like the opportunity to get my belt back.”
As a wise Pacquiao once said: “Fearless is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again, even though every time you’ve tried before you’ve lost.” Perhaps he will feel generous later in the year.
7. Mikey Garcia (39-1)
Four-weight junior champion Garcia already has a fight scheduled against Jessie Vargas in February having lost in a title fight to Spence Jnr nearly a year ago. The 32-year-old will want to get back into the win column before his shot against Pacquiao, which he calls a storyline that is “starting to pick up a lot of steam”.
“It’s a fight that’s been brought up for years,” Garcia told Boxing Scene. “He has obligations in the Philippines government, and I wanted to get a return fight. I don’t know if he will be available or not, but I think the second half of 2020 might be ready for both of us to get int the ring.
“If I look forward to bigger fights, then the biggest fight is Manny Pacquiao ... When we were both at Top Rank, they brought up the idea ... I loved the idea but it never really happened. The idea was for me to win the Spence fight in March [2019] and land Manny next, but it didn’t go my way. Maybe I have to take another fight or two before that.”
And there we have it. Be it for the legacy, the profit, or the fun, Pacquiao definitely has his hands full for 2020. Of course – and as the Senator has reiterated numerous times in his career – it is never about that. He fights “for God”, “for family” and “for my country”.
