Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has been linked to many opponents for his next fight. It seems that events have now gone full circle.
In April, the 42-year-old had earmarked a return to the ring to avoid being out of action for twenty-four months. This outcome is impossible to avoid.
If he’s back in action before the end of the year, Pacquiao looks set for an outing in July.
A Las Vegas return is on the cards and will mark a full two years since the ‘Pacman’ impressively defeated Keith Thurman.
There’s been plenty to write about since then.
Firstly, Pacquiao expressed interest in a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, a story exclusively broken by World Boxing News.
Middle-Eastern business people had expressed interest in staging the second fight for Pacquiao’s world welterweight title.
Despite confirmation from Mayweather in 2019, that contest failed to make it anywhere near the first bell.
That’s when a potential foe free-for-all emerged and has been offering twists and turns ever since.
Mikey Garcia was the initial target and seemed nailed to get the nod in the first half of 2020. Everything hit pause when the pandemic struck.
Attention then turned to Terence Crawford. That didn’t happen either. Crawford faced Kell Brook as Pacquiao stated he’d take time out to help his fellow compatriots in the Philippines.
Senatorial duties far outweighed his career at that point.
MANNY PACQUIAO SPOTLIGHT
Errol Spence then defeated Danny Garcia, and it was his turn to take the Manny Pacquiao spotlight, albeit for weeks.
Young Golden Boy star and social media influencer Ryan Garcia then fought Luke Campbell and revealed his desire to take on the eight-weight champion.
It wasn’t long after this that Pacquiao was stripped of his title in a shocking move that stunned the boxing world.
Garcia then dropped out of the running amidst reports the clash was a non-starter in the first place. ‘King Ry’ had made a very public announcement on his Instagram.
Come March 2020, and there’s an even fresher development that stumps the whole process. Mikey Garcia now claims their original agreed encounter is back on.
The multi-weight ruler sees the pair colliding on FOX Pay Per View in the coming weeks. All we need now is an official confirmation from Pacquiao himself.
WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN us on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews
