Pacman wants all the smoke!
Manny Pacquiao has the fighter’s itch, it appears.
And it looks like he wants to get right into the proverbial lion’s den in his comeback fight—potentially against undefeated welterweight Conor Benn.
According to ESPN, Pacquiao’s camp is in serious talks with the hard-hitting Benn, who is 21-0 with 14 knockouts. The proposed fight is being targeted for June 3 in Abu Dhabi at the United Arab Emirates, says MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons.
"He retired for a minute to run for President of the Philippines, where he took a respectful third place," Gibbons told ESPN. "And after that, he felt that his retirement was due to running for president, and now that [he wasn't elected], he wants to fight again and feels like he can do it at the highest level.”
A fight with Benn, son of British boxing legend Nigel Benn, would be as close to that highest level as possible. The British prizefighter is widely regarded in boxing circles as among the sport’s rising stars and has convincing wins over veteran contenders Chris Algieri and Chris van Heerden. Benn is also ranked number 7 by the World Boxing Council.
According to Gibbons, all that is left is for promoter Eddie Hearn to make the fight happen.
“Manny is an all-time great, and he feels like he still has a lot of fight left in him. And he still wants to compete at the highest level. And this fight [vs. Benn] was presented to him by [promoter] Eddie Hearn, and he agreed. Ball is in Eddie Hearn's court. Pacquiao ready to go," added Gibbons.
Hearn confirmed that talks with the Pacman camp are ongoing, but he sounded noncommittal at this point.
"We are in the process of selecting Conor Benn's next opponent and have been in active talks with Manny Pacquiao's team," Hearn said, as per ESPN. "We have had multiple site offers to stage the event and are looking to make an official announcement on Conor's next fight as early as next week."
Benn and Hearn can opt to go in a different direction, as they are reportedly in talks with welterweight contenders Kell Brook and Chris Eubank Jr.
Regardless, one thing is for certain according to Gibbons: Pacquiao wants to fight.