Pacquiao to fight another three years until he turns 35

By Boxing News - 11/22/2010 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KO’s) put to rest any retirement talk by saying he’ll stick around boxing another three years until he turns 35, according to the latest boxing news from Sky Sports. Pacquiao is currently 31, but turns 32 on December 17th. His promoter Bob Arum still has a number of fighters he wants to put Pacquiao in with starting with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and then possibly Shane Mosley and Sergio Martinez. Mosley may get the call next if Mayweather decides not to take the fight with Pacquiao. Given how difficult it’s been to negotiate a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao, it’s very likely that Mosley will be the next opponent for the Filipino star.

Old Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez won’t be one of Pacquiao’s opponents because Manny doesn’t see it as a fight that would interest the public, saying “I think people are not so interested, because if I were a boxing fan, I would not want to see Pacquiao v Marquez.” You could say the same thing about Pacquiao v Mosley, but the unknowing casual fans may actually buy this fight, thinking Mosley is still the same fighter he once was 10+ years ago in his prime. He’s clearly not, and this is just another easy payday for Pacquiao over a fading fighter. Pacquiao has taken on a lot of opponents recently that have been coming off of serious beatings and/or showing signs of being over the hill. Mosley would fit in nicely with that bunch as one of Pacquiao’s opponents.

Sergio Martinez, on the other hand, is fighting at a high level and likely won’t get a shot against Pacquiao unless Martinez agrees to a low catch weight figure. Currently, the word is Pacquiao is open to fighting Martinez at below 150, but it’s unknown how far below 150 Pacquiao would be willing to fight him. My guess is it’s probably below 145 in order for Martinez to be weak enough to be managed.

Beyond Martinez, Mayweather and Mosley, there is unbeaten WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto who could be an option for Pacquiao in the near future as well. Berto, like recent Pacquiao opponents Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito, doesn’t have much of a fan base, so this is fight that Pacquiao will be the one drawing the fans unless he waits a couple of years for Berto to finally fight some quality guys in order to make a name for himself. As of now, Berto has been mostly matched soft against obscure opponents and that’s stunted his ability to win fans.



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