Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford are in talks again
Social media is going bananas as news from The Athletic dropped that WBA champion-in-recess Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39ko) could face WBO Welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (37-0, 28ko).
It is not the first time we have heard of talks taking place between Pacquiao and Crawford. Back in 2015, when Bud was running through the junior welterweight division, was the first time the idea got introduced to the boxing community. The second time was in 2020. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum told the boxing community that a deal was very close.
This news explains quite a few things. When the WBO #2 rated welterweight, Vergil Ortiz Jr, beat down Maurice Hooker for the WBO International title back on March 20, Crawford was dismissive of a fight against Ortiz and claimed to be on to bigger things.
During an interview with Barbershop Conversations, Arum dropped a bombshell that the WBO champion’s next fight will be a major Pay-Per-View fight.
“There’s going to be an announcement within the week on Bud Crawford’s next fight. I can’t reveal it now, but it will be a major fight. There’s a date, a place, but I’m not at liberty to discuss it at this time.”
THE BIG FIGHT CRAWFORD HAS BEEN WAITING FOR
Crawford has made it clear that a fight with unified champion Errol “The Truth” Spence is behind him. He felt disrespected by the unified champion for saying the purse split would be 60/40, with Bud taking the low end. However, a victory over someone the caliber of Pac Man is the big joker card that works in Bud’s favor.
The Filipino senator has not been in the ring since defeating Keith “One Time” Thurman back in July 2019. He lifted the WBA ‘Super’ title off the younger champion, and he has since been listed as champion-in-recess due-to-inactivity.
Pacquiao was previously rumored of making possible fights with Golden Boy fighter Ryan Garcia, and four-divisional champion Mikey Garcia. During an interview with Filipino Daily Tribune, Pac Man said that Crawford is on the top of his list for a fight.
“I like to fight somebody who has a title. We told Bob, I get $40 million and Crawford gets $10 million.”
So this could finally come into fruition. Although they are only in talks, things look to be going in a positive direction.
By: Garrisson Bland
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