Manny Pacquiao, pushing 47 and without a world title, remains very bankable.
Amid the hoopla over the Filipino legend’s next opponent, another name has been thrown in as a possible foe: Lewis Crocker.
Crocker who?
He is the reigning International Boxing Federation welterweight champion and this Northern Ireland native joined a growing list of names being floated as possible Pacquiao rival in his planned ring return early-2026.
A report on BBC Sport said that Crocker’s team has already reached out to the camp of Pacquiao about the possibility of bringing the Hall of Famer to Windsor Park in Belfast.
Currently, there are talks to pit Pacquiao with Rolly Romero, the World Boxing Association welterweight titlist.
While a deal has yet to be put in place, that’s the direction Pacquiao’s team is taking with MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons in talks with Premier Boxing Champions, the outfit that helped stage Pacquiao’s last four fights.
“I reached out to Sean Gibbons of Manny Pacquiao’s team last night (Tuesday),” Crocker’s manager Jamie Conlan told BBC Sport.
“They are trying to do a Rolly Romero (fight) but if that can’t be done, then we are going to have communication.”
Conlan admits they are playing second fiddle to Romero.
“Romero and the WBA (championship) is their first port of call, but he (Gibbons) is strong on the idea if something can be done, it can definitely be looked at. What a rise it would be to fight Manny Pacquiao,” Conlan added.
Crocker, 28, parades a 22-0 win-loss card with 11 knockouts.
Pacquiao almost became a world champion last July in Las Vegas when his 12-round duel with Mario Barrios for the World Boxing Council jewels was ruled a majority draw when two judges had it 114-114 and the third judge had it 115-113 for Barrios.
Despite the heartbreaking outcome, Pacquiao said that he would resume his world title quest, confident that his next chance would bear positive results.
“My training camp the last time (against Barrios) was not enough. I only had less than eight weeks when I normally do 12 weeks of training,” Pacquiao said.