There are so many great, legendary, Hall of Fame fighters in attendance in Riyadh for tonight’s heavily hyped fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. And it must be a tough job for members of the media, who are tasked with the job of getting good copy via interviews with the greats on hand, when it comes to deciding just WHO to interview. Imagine, you’re blessed with press credentials and you want an interview or three for your platform – who would you try and speak with from this lot: Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Evander Holyfield, Joe Calzaghe, Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao, Roberto Duran, Shannon Briggs, Frank Bruno……have I missed anyone? Probably.
It is indeed a case of nothing short of boxing royalty being in attendance for tonight’s event. One of the above legends who had a surprising amount of things to say about possible future fights, of his own, this when plenty of fans were led to believe he was retired, is Manny Pacquiao. Pac Man, now aged 44 (45 in December) but looking years younger, was in much demand, as would be expected. Fight Hub TV managed to speak with this particular living legend, and Manny is apparently not retired at all. Far from it. The all-time great has plans to box in the 2024 Olympics, he may have an exhibition bout with Floyd Mayweather in the works, and Pac Man is also open to a fight with Tank Davis!
“Oh, I’m still active. I’m training,” Pacquiao said when asked if he’s retired or not. “I have an exhibition match this coming December. In Japan. We’re working on it, the opponent. We’re working with [Floyd] Mayweather. We’re still working on it. We’re trying right now, to request to the Olympic Committee to allow me to participate in the Olympics, because there’s an age limit. So, if they accept me to participate, I can fight. Gervonta Davis is a good fighter. If he wants [to fight] and if he comes up to 147, then we can fight. 145, maybe. That’s not a problem for me, I’m an experienced fighter.”
Yesterday, Amir Khan said there is also the possibility of he and Manny having a fight in the Middle East. It does seem as though Pacquiao is FAR from finished, far from content in retirement. But how on earth would Pacquiao able to cram it all in – the Olympics dream he has, the Mayweather exhibition, a fight with Khan, and a fight with Tank! Talk about too much too late, as in too late in Pacquiao’s career.
Maybe one of the above will happen for Manny, but plenty of fans will be hoping it’s not a fight with Tank. That would be one heck of a dangerous fight for Pac Man, the 45 year old version. In all likelihood, it won’t happen, but why is Pacquiao even talking about this fight?
Maybe the buzz in Riyadh has got Pacquiao pumped up, surrounded as he is by all those fellow ring greats. Guys like Lewis, Holyfield, Tyson, Calzaghe, Holmes, De La Hoya and others are done, with them having no plans to fight again. But this is not the case with Manny Pacquiao.
