Floyd Mayweather Vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov In December, Manny Pacquiao & Adrien Broner In January, Pac Man Says
Manny Pacquiao has the next seven months of boxing mapped out for himself, and it will all culminate with a Cinco de Mayo rematch between him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. But first, Mayweather will tangle with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Pacquiao will take on Adrien Broner — according to what Pacquiao told a reporter in the Phillippines on Wednesday, October 17.
The Daily Mirror reports that Pacquiao opened up about his plans to stake a potential return to the U.S. boxing scene during a ceremony held in his honor at the Makati Shangrila Hotel in Manila. The International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS) played host to a house packed with dignitaries and supporters in what was billed as an engagement to formally announce the pugilist — and part-time Filipino statesman — as the organization’s new ambassador. ABS-CBN News journalist Dennis Gasgonia happened to be on hand for the scoop, and to his delight, he got a bit more out of Pacquiao than he might have initially bargained for.
“Floyd is going to fight on December 31 and I’m going to fight January 12. After that, we’ll know […] He’s coming back. We’ll discuss it after Broner,” Pacquiao reportedly told Gasgonia. “If that fight happens, I want Cinco de Mayo [May 5] or July.”
Broner would respond to Pacquiao’s claim in the caption of an Instagram repost of the article’s headline, writing: “Look bra bra come get what you looking for.”
The Inquisitr has been keeping track of developments surrounding the potential Mayweather versus Khabib affair. As it stands, The Money Team boss has left the ball in the UFC Lightweight Champion’s hands, telling TMZ that he intends to do whatever he can on his part to make another cross-sport money fight happen — and that it is now in his counterpart’s hands to decide on whether he is really committed to making an arrangement work.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao is fresh off of detaching himself from his career-long tenure under Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotions. His signing to Mayweather partner, Al Haymon — per Forbes — puts him in a great position to not only choose opponents from the broad slate of fighters under Haymon’s stable with CBS, but also to do business with Mayweather.
At 39 years old and with an additional loss to a less than prolific Jeff Horne since Mayweather handed him a defeat in their 2015 clash, the stateside return may be a tough sell for many. But, fans can be hopeful that with him having more leverage over his career than he has had in the past, Pacquiao may be looking forward to 2019 with the gust of a second wind at his back.
