Manny Pacquiao has 2.5 million followers on Twitter, so when he posts a poll on the social media platform, it’s not crazy to put some weight on the results. Pacquiao recently asked his followers, “who should I fight next?”
He included four names: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, and Shawn Porter. You can see the poll results below.
Manny Pacquiao ✔ @MannyPacquiao Who should I fight next?
3,194 10:12 AM – Mar 23, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 73%Floyd Mayweather 13%Keith Thurman 9%Danny Garcia 5%Shawn Porter 80,448 votes ? Final results 3,604 people are talking about this Overwhelmingly, the response was in favor of Mayweather. The retired undefeated boxer whom Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to in 2015 was the popular choice at 73 percent. This landslide choice proves there is still significant interest in the much-discussed rematch with Mayweather.
This might be a bit of a surprise to some who criticized the first fight for its lack of action, or others who contend the two men are too old to put on a good show for fight fans. In any case, Pacquiao got more than 80,000 people to vote in an online pool, and more than 53,000 of them said the Filipino should fight Mayweather next.
This number doesn’t represent the entire potential pay-per-view audience, in fact, the reachable group is much larger. Unfortunately for fans, and Pacquiao who has made it no secret this is the fight he wants, Mayweather has been reluctant to come out of retirement. There is hope the lure of another payday might ultimately sway him if, in fact, a deal hasn’t already been agreed to and the public hasn’t been made privy to the information.
Thurman is the man most expect to get the call in June or July when Pacquiao returns to the ring. He is the recognized WBA welterweight champion with Pacquiao’s belt seen as a secondary championship. Thurman received the second most votes in the poll, but he came in a distant second.
Thurman has battled injuries, but he returned to the ring after a nearly two-year absence in January with a unanimous-decision win over Josesito Lopez. Thurman looked great early, but he was caught with some big shots late as Lopez had him in trouble before the champion regained his wherewithal. Still, Thurman looked a bit vulnerable, and that has many intrigued about a matchup with the 40-year-old Pacquiao.
Garcia didn’t receive much support in the poll, but it was WBC champion, Porter, bringing up the rear with a humbling five percent. This poll has to be put into perspective, but I’d venture to say the numbers might not be too different if a national publication posted the same kind of poll.
The other major takeaway from the poll is the absence of IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. The 29-year-old pound-for-pound contender dismantled and battered the undersized Mikey Garcia earlier this month with Pacquiao in attendance in Arlington, Texas. Spence called Pacquiao into the ring and formally challenged him.
Pacquiao accepted but looked less than comfortable in the process. Perhaps Spence’s exclusion from the poll is further proof Pacquiao would prefer to go another direction rather than face the much younger champion. I’d expect to hear an official word on Pacquiao’s next opponent sometime soon, as his July date fast approaches.
