All-time great, in fact living legend, Manny Pacquiao turns 41 today. The man who grew up in abject poverty and went on to be saved by this great and special sport has achieved far more than the young Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao could possibly have dreamed of. Yet Pacquiao is not done yet.
As fight fans know, the southpaw dyano had a very good 2019 in the ring. Fighting twice, Pac Man came close to shutting out Adrien Broner in January and he then won a close, thrilling battle with Keith Thurman in July. On both occasions, Pacquiao faced men much younger than himself yet youth was not served. Instead, this quite incredible multi-weight world champion rolled back the years and cemented his greatness. Who knows, Pacquiao might even get the vote for 2019 Fighter of The Year.
But what might 2020 have in store for the fighting senator? Talk of that Floyd Mayweather rematch has just about fizzled out completely now, while a talked of fight with Mikey Garcia doesn’t look like happening; Garcia signing with Matchroom and being set to fight Jessie Vargas in February. Danny Garcia might also be out, set as he is to fight Ivan Redkach in January. Shawn Porter has expressed great interest in fighting Pacquiao but he could fight Terence Crawford next instead. While Pacquiao, and Freddie Roach, don’t seem to want to fight Crawford.
So who might Pacquiao, 62-7-2(39) fight next year? Will he actually fight? It seems likely he will do so, and maybe a fight will come out of the blue and surprise us all. But whoever he fights next, rest assured the fans will be firmly on Manny’s side. How much more can this unique prizefighter accomplish before he’s finally done and hangs up the gloves?
Pac Man’s greatest hits:
TKO11 Marco Antonio Barrera, 2003
TKO10 Erik Morales, 2006
WRTD8 Oscar De La Hoya, 2006
TKO12 Miguel Cotto, 2009
KO2 Ricky Hatton, 2009
W12 Antonio Margarito, 2010
D12, W12, W12 Juan Manuel Marquez, 2004, 2008, 2011
W12 Keith Thurman, 2019
Now that’s some resume!
Happy birthday, champ.
