EIGHT-DIVISION champion Manny Pacquiao formally announced his August 21 fight against undefeated unified titlist Errol Spence Jr. on Monday in Manila.
But somewhere in the press conference that happened at dawn Manila time, the topic veered toward Floyd Mayweather Jr., who Pacquiao fought in a blockbuster showdown six years ago.
Mayweather offered to teach Spence on how to handle Pacquiao in their fight set at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
But the 41-year-old Pacquiao gave the 31-year-old Spence his own piece of advice.
“Errol [Spence] doesn’t need to get an advice from Mayweather,” Pacquiao said in the presser FOX organized in its Los Angeles studios. “Errol Spence is better than Floyd Mayweather. Maybe he can teach Floyd how to fight toe to toe.”
Pacquiao nursed a shoulder injury he refused to make public then when he lost to Mayweather via unanimous decision in their May 2015 fight. Mayweather retired after that opting for exhibition bouts, but Pacquiao continued his career.
Spence also gave his advice—to himself.
“It’s a great compliment, but Manny Pacquiao is the kind of guy that can lull you to sleep,” said Spence, owner of a 27-0 won-lost record with 21 knockouts. “He’ll give you a lot of compliments, gratitude and things like that. Then as soon as the bell rings, he’s jumping all on you.”
Spence also revealed Mayweather has yet to reach out to him.
Pacquiao also said he chose Spence because of the “greater challenge that awaits him.”
“There was a lot of opportunity for me to pick a much easier fight compared with Errol Spence,” he said. “I decided to pick Errol Spence because I want a real fight.”
“It’s one of the biggest challenges in my career,” Pacquiao said. “I cannot say the biggest challenge because I have fought the best fighters in the world like Keith Thurman, Oscar Dela Hoya, Miguel Cotto, a lot of those fighters. But one of the best I can rate.”
Spence is staking his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight titles in the fight.
Pacquiaohasn’t fought since July 2019, when he beat Thurman by split decision for his third consecutive victory.
Spence, on the other hand, will be in the ring for only the second time since October 2019, when he survived a single-car crash in which he was ejected from his Ferrari 488 Spider. Spence was convicted of driving while intoxicated, but received no jail time.
He returned last December in his native Dallas area with a unanimous decision over Danny Garcia.
Pacquiao has been stopped just once since 1999, but Spence said he won’t enter the ring looking for a highlight-reel knockout. Spence is 3 1/2 inches taller than Pacquiao, and his frame was significantly larger during their ceremonial faceoff.
“I definitely have the ability to finish him,” Spence said. “But for me, it’s about winning the fight.”
The pay-per-view event will be telecast by Fox Sports. With AP