Spence on possible Pacquiao fight: It’s really up to him
FILE –(L-R) Errol Spence Jr. after a unanimous decision against Danny Garcia during their WBC & IBF World Welterweight Championship fight at AT&T Stadium on December 05, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines—Errol Spence made a triumphant return to the ring when he defended his WBC and IBF World welterweight titles against Danny Garcia in convincing fashion earlier this December.
The unified champion featured in a horrible car crash in November 2019 that left him sidelined for the first half of 2020 but his dominant win over Garcia, himself a former welterweight and super lightweight titleholder, now opens the door for more title bouts in the future.
A fight with WBO champion Terence Crawford is the most high-profile match in the 147-pound division but he can still have a unification bout with one his Premier Boxing Champions stablemate—Manny Pacquiao.
In an interview with the PBC Podcast, Spence said that he won’t mind fighting the WBA champ and that the decision falls on Pacquiao to make.
“It’s really up to Pacquiao,” said Spence, h/t BoxingScene.com.
Spence (27-0) and Pacquiao (62-7-2) have never interacted much, with a brief encounter back in March 2019 being the most public of their rare moments together.
Pacquiao was in attendance when Spence called out the Filipino ring legend after he retained his IBF title against Mikey Garcia.
Even if Spence can’t fight Pacquiao in his next bout, a rematch against Shawn Porter could also be easily made as all three are under Al Haymon’s PBC umbrella.
Spence defeated Porter, who is a former sparring partner of Pacquiao, in September 2019 via split decision to unify the IBF and WBC belts.
“A Porter rematch may be good. The first fight was an exciting fight. The second one would probably be like the first one,” said Spence.
A fight against Crawford is difficult to finalize as the WBO champ is under Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotions. But the Nebraska native will become a free agent in October 2021 and Haymon can move in to sign the pound-for-pound great.
