Report: Manny Pacquiao Could Fight Floyd Mayweather or Errol Spence Jr. in 2019
November 24, 2018
Manny Pacquiao is expected to fight either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Errol Spence Jr. in the fall of 2019 should he defeat Adrien Broner in January, according to The Ring's Mike Coppinger.
Pacquiao has fought just once in 2018, defeating Lucas Martin Matthysse via technical knockout in July. However, he will be back in the ring at the age of 40 on Jan. 19, when he faces Broner at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pac-Man (60-7-2) will be defending his WBA world welterweight title.
Of course, Pacquiao and Mayweather have already squared off in what was one of the most anticipated bouts in recent memory. Mayweather won via unanimous decision in May 2015 to improve his career record to 48-0.
After that showdown, though, Pacquiao said he had stepped into the ring with an injured right shoulder and was denied an anti-inflammatory shot beforehand. He explained that he did not want to use the injury as an excuse for the loss but said it affected him.
"It's part of the game," Pacquiao said, per ESPN.com. "I don't want to make alibis or complain or anything...[but] it's hard to fight one-handed."
Mayweather tweeted his thoughts:
Pacquiao would undergo surgery for a torn rotator cuff just days after the fight.
Now, it appears as though a rematch could be in the cards. Money (50-0) has stepped into the ring just twice since his victory over Pac-Man. He won his fight with Andre Berto via unanimous decision four months after facing Pacquiao, and then after he defeated UFC star Conor McGregor via TKO in August 2017, he said he was retiring.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao and Spence have not met to this point. The 28-year-old Spence is a perfect 24-0, including 2-0 this year. He already has a fight scheduled for March 16 against Mikey Garcia in at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It's not clear if either Mayweather or Spence would be an option should Pacquiao lose to Broner. However, Coppinger noted that Pacquiao signed with Premier Boxing Champions last month in part because he is expected to have a big pay-per-view fight in 2019.