Spence names Pacquiao as potential foe in boxing return

Delfin Dioquino

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Spence names Pacquiao as potential foe in boxing return

AFP

A bout between IBF and WBC champion Errol Spence Jr and WBA titlist Manny Pacquiao will unify the welterweight division

MANILA, Philippines – Welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr named Manny Pacquiao as one of his “realistic goals” for his next 3 fights as he returns to the ring after being sidelined for nearly a year. 

Spence, the IBF and WBC champion, last fought in September before his career was derailed by a serious car crash that saw him suffer facial lacerations and get charged with driving under the influence.

“My realistic goals are Danny Garcia, Pacquiao, and Terence Crawford, or Pacquiao then Terence Crawford,” Spence said in The Last Stand podcast. 

“I don’t want to leave 147 [pounds] without fighting Terence Crawford.” 

Spence has not lost a bout since turning professional in 2012, stopping all but 5 of his 26 opponents. (READ: Spence considers Pacquiao perfect comeback opponent)

The holder of the IBF title since 2017, the American added another hardware to his collection by winning the WBC belt following a split decision victory over Shawn Porter in his last fight. 

Pacquiao, meanwhile, has been riding on a three-fight winning streak as he retained his WBA crown against erstwhile unbeaten Keith Thurman in July. 

Spence is one of the potential opponents for Pacquiao in his title defense, although Top Rank boss Bob Arum said the Filipino champion is leaning towards a megabout against WBO king Crawford.

There are also talks of Pacquiao facing middleweight superstar Gennady Golovkin. (READ: Pacquiao vs Golovkin workable at catchweight)

Nevertheless, Spence said he is just hungry to fight again. 

“I got a lot of naysayers, people that don’t think I’m going to come back like I used to. But I’m going to come back even better than I was before,” he said. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.