When Manny Pacquiao announced through his social media accounts he will be fighting WBC-IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. on August 21 in Las Vegas, this writer initially thought his accounts had been hacked.
The announcement definitely sounded too good to be true.
Pacquiao’s camp had initially announced Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia was the ring icon’s choice. The announcement received a lukewarm response, with many believing Garcia was a “safe” choice compared to a guy like WBO welterweight king Terence Crawford.
Pacquiao and Crawford appeared headed for a June 5 collision, but everything fell apart when investors from Abu Dhabi failed to deliver. Top Rank Promotions head honcho Bob Arum claimed the terms of the fight had been settled, but the money that was supposed to be put up by the investors was nowhere to be found after the deadline expired.
Garcia (40-1, 30 knockouts) stepped in as the backup plan. He offered impressive credentials, having won titles in four weight classifications. But many see Garcia as a bloated, slow welterweight and his anemic showing against Spence Jr. in March 2019 was cited as Exhibit “A.”
Just a few weeks after Pacquiao’s business manager Arnold Vegafria made the announcement, Garcia started hinting the fight was not going to happen.
Garcia disclosed several proposals were discussed but nothing really happened. The former champ lamented there are just too many people talking for Pacquiao.
“Everybody around him [Pacquiao] is a manager,” Garcia was quoted as saying.
With no solid foundation, negotiations for a Pacquiao-Garcia fight crumbled like a sandcastle.
Then came the big, unexpected announcement from Pacquiao he will be swapping mitts with Spence Jr.
It is worth noting the announcement came from Pacquiao himself, an indication he was personally involved in the negotiations with Spence Jr.
It appears the mega fight was put together within just a couple of days. The clincher came when Al Haymon of Premier Boxing Champions secured an August pay-per-view date with Fox Sports.
Previously, heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were supposed to square off on August 14. It made no sense, from a business standpoint, for any other marquee fighter (including Pacquiao) to fight within the same month as fight fans have long been salivating for the all-British heavyweight war.
But a slot in August opened up when the Fury-Joshua was called off. Fury was ordered by an arbiter to fight Deontay Wilder a third time and the two appear headed for a collision in July.
Pacquiao and Spence Jr. will have August all for themselves and fight fans cannot wait to see them step into the ring.
Spence Jr. is definitely a better choice compared to Garcia.
Spence Jr. holds two titles (WBC, IBF) and is one of the best, if not the best, welterweight champ today.
Nicknamed “The Truth,” Spence Jr. is 27-0 with 21 knockouts.
He initially captured the IBF title in 2017 then added the WBC hardware two years later.
Spence Jr. has defeated a slew of notable fighters, including former champions Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and Kell Brook.
Pacquiao’s choice of Spence Jr. has unanimously earned praises from fans and aficionados. Then again, the consensus is Pacquiao (62-7, 2 draws, 39 knockouts) is taking a huge risk.
Pacquiao has been inactive since July 2019, when he defeated American Keith Thurman for the super version of the WBA’s welterweight title. Pacquiao has since been stripped of the title and named “champion in recess” by the WBA for inactivity.
Pacquiao is already 42 years old and by the time the fight with Spence Jr. happens, he will be just four months shy of 43.
Spence Jr. has all the advantages in terms of height and reach.
He also has a boxing style that can humiliate and hurt Pacquiao.
Spence Jr. offers aggressive pressure and a pesky right jab that can keep Pacquiao at bay.
Spence Jr.’s dreaded left flows from his right jab. Spence Jr. knows how to work the body and his stamina is impressive as he has no problems going the full route.
Pacquiao, however, sees a notable flaw he can take advantage of. Spence Jr. is not lightning-fast in delivering his punches and Pacquiao believes he can beat him to the punch.
Analysts will definitely have a field day breaking down the fight as the big date approaches.
While Las Vegas, Nevada has been picked as the host, there is no definite venue yet as of this writing. MGM Grand is a Pacquiao favorite but the newly-opened Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League, has also cropped up.
Built at the cost of $1.9 billion, the Allegiant Stadium offers a seating capacity of 65,000.
With Fury-Joshua in the backburner, Pacquiao-Spence Jr. has undeniably become the hottest ticket in the sport today.
