Manny Pacquiao has joined fellow superstar Floyd Mayweather and has signed a deal with huge Japanese organisation RIZN. President Noboyuki Sakakibara wrote on social media how 40 year old Pacquiao will appear on the April 21st RIZN 15:
“Now, I’m actually in the Philippines. Following Mayweather, RIZN will make a new gimmick with this guy. I will announce it as soon as I return home, so please look forward to it!”
With the message, Sakakibara posted photos of Pacquiao, pen in hand, signing a contract. So what can fight fans expect to see on April 21st? It’s not clear if Pac Man will actually fight, in an exhibition, the way Mayweather did on New Year’s Eve, or whether the welterweight will merely appear. Sakakibara wrote the word “gimmick,” so perhaps Manny will indeed merely show up in some capacity but not actually fight.
It’s also unclear how much money Pacquiao will be paid for his services to RIZN (Mayweather picked up a nice $9 million for his easy night’s work with Tenshin Nasukawa) or whether he will feature in additional shows after April 21st. What we don’t need to see is Pacquaio facing an over-matched and undersized foe the way “Money” did. Remember, Pacquiao was very critical of the Mayweather/Nasukawa event, so he cannot go ahead and feature in something just as bad himself.
In terms of his next real fight, the word is Manny will likely fight either Keith Thurman or Danny Garcia next, some time in the summer. Maybe Pacquiao wanted to have a little fun with RIZN beforehand. At the age of 40, and after such a long and great ring career, Pac Man shows no real signs of slowing down. Mayweather, on the other hand, told media members over the weekend that he will not be coming back to fight anyone. So fans who wanted to see it can forget all about a Mayweather/Pacquiao II. Maybe this is in fact a good thing.
