After knockout of Matthysse, promoters lining up anew to sign Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines poses after defeating Lucas Matthysse of Argentina during their WBA World welterweight title bout in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. Pacquiao won the WBA welterweight world title after knocking out Matthysse on round seven. (AP Photo/Yam G-Jun)
Once again, Manny Pacquiao is the most sought after fighter in all of boxing.
After scoring a thrilling knockout win over Lucas Matthysse just as people thought he was over the hill, Pacquiao found himself in the middle of a tug-of-war of sorts among top boxing promoters the way he did several years back when he was the top pound-for-pound fighter.
Among those who are trying to sign Pacquiao are his former promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions.
Arum planed in straight to Gen. Santos City on Friday to convince Pacquiao to challenge any of the best two fighters in his stable, WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford or undefeated Ukrainian lightweight titlist Vasyl Lomachenko.
Hearn is reportedly bringing in a deal for Pacquiao to be featured in DAZN, a new streaming service that rivals ESPN+, which beamed the July 15 bout against Lucas Matthysse.
Under Hearn is Pacquiao’s former sparring partner, Amir Khan who has since called him out for a showdown in London.
De La Hoya, who said Pacquiao was the toughest fight of his career, watched at ringside in Kuala Lumpur with an open-ended offer to work with the Filipino global superstar.
Pacquiao had earlier said he will fight either Dec. 2 or 8, with three or four boxers being floated as a possible foe.
