Manny Pacquiao vs. Terence Crawford deal has collapsed

By Jeepers Isaac - 04/24/2021 - Comments

The fight that some fans were looking forward to between welterweights Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford won’t be happening now after the investors from Abu Dhabi didn’t come up with the revenue to make the fight happen.

The fight would have been shown on ESPN+ pay-per-view. It would have been Crawford’s third pay-per-view event for his career and by far the biggest match for him.

The Pacquiao vs. Crawford fight was supposed to have taken place on June 5th in the UAE. Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) had signed his portion of the contract to make the fight happen, but Crawford hadn’t signed.

With the funds failing to come in, Crawford not signing is no big deal because there was no reason.

Crawford had tunnel vision for the Pacquiao fight since his last fight against Kell Brook in late 2020.

When asked after the fight if he were interested in Shawn Porter, Crawford made it clear that he wanted Pacquiao, and he felt confident he’d get the match.

In hindsight, Crawford should have been realistic by choosing the easier match to put together against Porter.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Terence Crawford deal has collapsed

It’s a big disappointment because Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had sounded so confident that the fight would happen when speaking about it months ago.

Mike Coppinger revealed the news of the Pacquiao-Crawford deal collapsing. He’s not saying what the next move will be for the two welterweights.

For the 42-year-old Pacquiao, he must get back in the ring as soon as possible because he’s been inactive since his 12 round split decision win over Keith Thurman in July 2019.

Pacquiao can’t afford to be too picky when choosing his next fight because he needs to get active before losing his skills.

If Pacquiao wants a tune-up, Amir Khan would be perfect. He’s been pushing for a fight with Manny for ages, and he’s nearing the end of his career.

It’s less of an issue for Crawford, 33, to be sitting inactive because he last fought in November, beating former IBF 147-lb champion Kell Brook by a fourth-round knockout.

Crawford needed this fight to get a better deal in unification with IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence Jr. That fight is doubtful to happen.

If Crawford is willing to take a hard fight, he can face Shawn Porter, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Jaron Ennis, or Keith Thurman. Those are all pay-per-view-worthy fights for Crawford if he’s open to taking a risky fight.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Terence Crawford deal has collapsed

Crawford’s options:

  • Josesito Lopez
  • Vergil Ortiz Jr
  • Shawn Porter
  • Keith Thurman
  • Jaron Ennis
  • Danny Garcia
  • David Avanesyan