What Next For Manny Pacquiao

What Next For Manny Pacquiao

By Gary Kittilsen

Manny Pacquiao is back! Pac Man put together a sensational performance in knocking out rugged veteran and WBA “Regular” champ Lucas Matthysse in seven rounds.

Pacquiao dominated the fight from the opening bell showing off the speed, footwork and combination punching that made him a legend in the sport. Pacquiao scored knockdowns of Matthysse in rounds 3, 6 and 7 in capturing the WBA “regular” world welterweight title via seventh-round TKO.

There is still some life left in the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer, he secured his first knockout since 2009. when he stopped the legendary Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao showed that he still has the speed and power to make him a dangerous fighter, and a threat to anyone around the welterweight division. Pacquiao is still a massive draw. Tim Bradley, who fought Pacquiao three times, pointed this out during the ESPN telecast, saying, fighting Pacquiao “Pays the bills”. So who’s next to cash in on a Pacquiao payday? We look at the five best options for Pacquiao’s next opponent.

Adrien Broner- Despite varied success AB is still a massive draw in the US with a huge fan base. He also just signed a 5 fight $50 million dollar deal with Mayweather Promotions. With that kind of guaranteed money, Floyd isn’t looking to get him a couple of tune-ups. Floyd Mayweather is looking to put AB in mega fights and that’s exactly what this fight represents.

Vasyl Lomachenko- Loma is a top three pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Just like Pacquiao represented a few years back, Lomachenko has a unique skill set that is carrying him through various weight classes. Lomachenko showed in his knockout victory over Jorge Linares that he can carry his power up with him through the weight classes and he can take a good, clean shot from a bigger guy.

Terence Crawford- This fight has been rumored for the past few years it makes more sense now than ever before. It would be a welterweight unification fight Crawford, currently holds the WBO belt and Pacquiao the WBA, it would be easy to make as Pacquiao who is now self-promoted has a long working relationship with Crawford’s promoter Top Rank. It would represent a massive payday for Bud and Pacquiao and we know that both fighters have expressed interest in the fight and it would perfectly set up a fight for undisputed welterweight supremacy if Al Haymon matches up his welterweights and has Spence unify his IBF strap with the winner of the Porter vs Garcia fight for the vacant WBC belt.

Keith Thurman- Thurman has been inactive for well over a year now and has cancelled or postponed several comeback dates. Thurman holds the WBA “Super” title and Pacquiao the “regular” title. So this fight would match up the regular champ with the highly inactive super champ and would give us clarity as to just one recognized champ in the WBA. It has also been rumored that Keith Thurman is in danger of being stripped of the WBA belt, he was forced to vacate his WBC belt back in late-April. So there is also the possibility that the WBA could end up mandating this fight as well.

Amir Khan- These two have wanted this fight for many years. They know each other extremely well, both having trained at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym for many years. This fight was signed back in 2017 to take place in the United Arab Emirates until the funding fell through and was called off. Pacquiao went on to fight Horn losing his belt. With no belt on the line, a Pacquiao/Khan fight made little sense. With Pacquiao now capturing the WBA strap, a Khan fight is both hugely profitable as Khan is still a big draw in both the UK and the US it is also perfectly timed. If this fight that both guys want is ever going to happen it’s probably now.