Pacquiao: Give me Crawford

Manny Pacquiao isn’t running away from a fight.

Pushing 43, Pacquiao would rather lock horns with Terence Crawford, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight king or Errol Spence, the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) ruler.

“I like to fight somebody who has a title,” Pacquiao told Daily Tribune as he is reeling from being stripped of the title by the World Boxing Association.

Pacquiao also mentioned the name of Mikey Garcia as one of the candidates but the Mexican-American banger seems to be last in the pecking order given the Filipino eight-division champion’s desire to win a world crown.

Pacquiao is salivating over the prospects of getting it on with Crawford, his first choice as foe.

Apparently, Crawford’s promoter, Top Rank chief Bob Arum has already been told about the magic numbers.

“We told Bob I get $40 million and Crawford gets $10 million,” said Pacquiao, whose last fight was a stunning win over Keith Thurman in July 2019 in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao swears he “feels great” despite the inactivity and that he doesn’t believe his age will play a factor.

Immersed heavily in politics and public service, Pacquiao reveals he “weighs about 152 lbs”, something that is just a bit north of the welterweight division limit of 147.

A few days ago, Paradigm Sports, a management outfit owned and operated by Audie Attar, issued a notice saying a development is forthcoming.

Pacquiao likewise backed up Paradigm Sports’ announcement, adding that something big is being cooked up relative to his much-awaited return to the ring.

Crawford and Spence are both unbeaten.

Nebraska’s Crawford, 33 years old, is 37-0 with 28 knockouts while Texas’ Spence, 30, is 27-0 with 21 knockouts. Garcia of California, also 33, is 40-1 with 30 knockouts and is the only one who doesn’t have a world title at the moment.

Garcia, about the same height as Pacquiao at 5-6, is the least formidable of the trio.

Crawford, who stands 5-8, is a switch-hitter, a puncher who can box from both the orthodox (right-handed) and southpaw stance.

Spence, the tallest at nearly 5-10, is also fundamentally-sound like Crawford but fights from long range.

Still, Pacquiao, who sports a 62-7-2 mark with 39 knockouts, doesn’t mind who he eventually gets to share the ring with in a bout being penciled for 15 May in Dubai.

“I will fight anybody. You know me, I don’t back away from any challenge. Bring ‘em on!”