Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao, the only boxer in history to ever win major world titles in eight different weight classes, is done chasing Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Filipino champion holds a version of the welterweight belt and is, reportedly, already looking for possible opponents for future fights.
Pacquiao is 40-years-old and is at the twilight of his legendary career so it makes sense for Pacquiao to chase huge fights that would be as entertaining as it would be profitable. And a rematch between two of the best boxers of this generation would have been the best course of action. After all, a Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 would have been a fitting matchup to close their brilliant careers.
But then again, Mayweather seems like he wants nothing to do with Pacquiao. Whether he doesn't see Pacquiao as much of a challenge anymore, or whether a mega-fight with the Filipino ring icon doesn't sound as financially appealing to Mayweather, or whether he doesn't want to risk his perfect boxing record, the fight fans may never know.
While political duties keep the People's Champ busy back home in the Philippines, there is no denying that Pacquiao is still a major draw in the world of boxing. Pacquiao is coming off a dominant win over against American Adrien Broner. And Manny Pacquiao clearly is targeting Floyd Mayweather for his next opponent.
Pacquiao openly challenged the five-time world champion for a rematch during the post-fight interview. Mayweather coolly dodged the challenge, and later, the Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe killed the possible fight between the Pacman and Money May before it even began.
In an interview with TMZ, Mayweather announced that he is scheduled to fight again in July. It will be an exhibition boxing match just like the one that Mayweather dominated last January against the Japanese superstar Tenshin Nasukawa. According to Mayweather, he has lined up "four or five" exhibition matches this year alone, essentially killing a possible fight with Pacquiao this year.
However, with or without Mayweather, Pacquiao has other good options. There's the undefeated WBA "Regular" welterweight champion Keith Thurman (29-0/22 KOs) who recently defended his title. Thurman and Pacquiao are both promoted by Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) so a unification fight between the two champions would, in theory, be easier to set up.
The winner of the Errol Spence vs Mikey Garcia title match would also be an intriguing matchup for Pacquiao. The hard-punching Spence (24-0/21 KOs) is the IBF welterweight champion while Mikey Garcia (39-0/30 KOs) has won world titles in four different divisions. Both Spence and Garcia are under the PBC banner so a fight with Pacquiao would also be easier to arrange.
Then there's Terence Crawford and Amir Khan. Crawford and Khan are set to fight this April. The undefeated Crawford (34-0/25 KOs) has held the WBO welterweight belt since June 2018. Crawford has also won major world titles in three different divisions and is ranked as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Meanwhile, Khan, a former Pacquiao sparring-mate, is a bankable Pay-Per-View fighter. The British boxer holds a 33-4 record with 20 wins coming by KO.
There are no shortages of quality opponents for Manny Pacquiao. Any of these fighters could give the Pacman a run for his money. However, the boxing fans would rather see a mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. At the moment, it seems unlikely to happen as both fighters are looking at different directions: One fighter wants to test himself until he can no longer do it; the other fighter smartly handpicks his fights.
