Manny Pacquiao says he is willing to challenge WBO Welterweight champion Terence Crawford, providing he is given $40m.
Pacquiao, 42, was recently stripped of his WBA ‘Super’ Welterweight title and placed as ‘champion in recess’, with Yordenis Ugas elevated from WBA ‘Regular’ to full champion and is keen to win the belt from Crawford that he has held three times in his decorated career.
The eight-division world champion has reportedly held talks to face Ryan Garcia, whilst he was in negotiations with managerial stablemate, Conor McGregor prior to his knockout loss to Dustin Porirer at UFC 257.
‘Pacman’, who has been out of the ring since beating Keith Thurman by split decision in July 2019 in Las Vegas recently announced on Twitter that he had returned to training, insisting news was forthcoming and has made his demands clear for a potential spring showdown with Crawford.
“I like to fight somebody who has a title,” Pacquiao told Daily Tribune.
“We told [Crawford’s promoter] Bob [Arum] I get $40 million and Crawford gets $10 million.
“I will fight anybody. You know me, I don’t back away from any challenge. Bring ‘em on!”
View this post on Instagram
Three-weight world champion, Crawford made a fourth defence of his crown with a fourth round stoppage over Kell Brook in November.
The undefeated 33-year-old reiterated his desire over the weekend to face the Filipino legend, whilst there has been preliminary talks for a clash with two-time Welterweight champion, Shawn Porter who reportedly rejected a $1m offer from Crawford’s promoter, Bob Arum.
“We’ll just have to wait and see, both of them are great fights,” Crawford told FightHype.com.
“Yeah, I prefer the Manny Pacquiao fight over Shawn Porter, but Shawn Porter is a great fight in his own right and I’ll be ready for whichever one come to fruition.”
Pacquiao, who turns 43-years-old in December, also named four-weight world champion, Mikey Garcia as another potential opponent for his return, which has reportedly been earmarked for May 15 in Dubai.
Training camp has begun. I’m ready to get back in the ring and to further add to my legacy in the sport of boxing. Big news coming soon. @ParadigmSports @AudieAttar
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) February 9, 2021
Errol Spence Jr defended the two other world titles (WBC and IBF) with a points win over Danny Garcia in December and is another option with the pair both signed with Premier Boxing Champions, although newly crowned champion, Ugas is keen for an immediate unification with the unbeaten Texan.
A highly-anticipated match-up between Spence Jr and Crawford appears unlikely straight away, with the former publicly stating that he is the A-side in negotiations, whilst ‘Bud’ told FightHype.com he’ll “never ask for that fight ever again.”
