Who’s afraid of Errol Spence Jr.?
Newly minted world boxing sensation Errol Spence Jr. said he has spoken to Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao’s outstanding target for a next opponent.
“He told me he doesn’t have any ambition of coming back,” Spence bared.
That, more or less, puts Mayweather out of the list of Pacquiao’s possible new rivals.
Who could loom larger as Pacquiao’s next foe than Spence, who rose to full pound-for-pound stardom with his masterful conquest of four-division world champion Mikey Garcia in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday?
Actually, several foreign pundits, after watching how the 29-year-old Spence annihilated Garcia, expressed apprehension, saying the 40-year-old Pacquiao could be easily thrashed by Spence.
Bob Arum himself said he fears for Pacquiao, as Spence is too big and powerful a foe for the fighting senator.
There were also those who said they feared Pacquiao could be in for a shredding.
Spence was however quick to explain he could not take Pacquiao lightly, as the lone eight-division boxing champion has remained a profusely dangerous foe.
“It’s going to be a competitive because Pacquiao has the heart, he is a warrior, not scared of anyone,” Spence told a Fox Sports morning show.
Anyway, a poll conducted by boxing page Editinking among over 5,000 fans showed Pacquiao only a second choice, behind unbeaten WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who was picked by 47 percent of the respondents.
Pacquiao, the WBA regular welterweight title holder got 28 percent, followed by Keith Thurman with 15 percent.
Doing a Spence-Thurman would however be next to impossible, all for the fact that the two boxing stars belong to fiercely opposed promotional outfits. Pacquiao is now aligned with Premier Boxing Champions, while Crawford is with Top Rank.
Pacquiao has responded positively to a dare by Spence, who hailed the Filipino superhero on top of the ring after the championship fight in Texas on Sunday.
Spence also fights for Haymon and there’s a popular feel Pacquiao against Spence would be arranged smoothly by the influential PBC top man.
Many other experts may not be aware of it, but Pacquiao is the least worried about Spence’s newfound worth.
In fact, Pacquiao confided to a trusted Filipino sportswriter before leaving Arlington for Los Angeles that he did not find Spence a truly big puncher.
Shouldn’t it be Spence who should be worried instead?
