Errol Spence hosted a boxing clinic in front of a crowd of 47,525 at the AT&T Stadium on Saturday evening versus Mikey Garcia. The results, a unanimous decision win with scorecards of 120-107, 120-108 and 120-108. While everyone knew that Spence was the bigger and stronger man, what Spence proved to many was that he was also the smarter, faster, better all-around boxer.
After the fight, Spence called Pacquiao out and said that he wanted to fight him next. Pacquiao (61-7) has had some success in the welterweight division against fighters like Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Timothy Bradley and most recently, Adrien Broner. Spence added to the call out, saying “Manny Pacquiao, he’s blood and guts. So that’ll definitely be a great fight. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer, and he’s on his way out. And I’ll definitely give him that retirement check that he been needing.”
But will this matchup be next for Spence? And will it be best?
From a boxing standpoint, it doesn’t appear to be the most challenging opponent for Spence. A large majority of Spence’s success versus Garcia was because Spence was able to capitalize on his height and length/reach advantages. Spence used his 4” reach advantage flawlessly, to keep Garcia at an uncomfortable distance where he was unable to generate any offense. From the outside, Spence jabbed at will, landed unanswered combinations and had his way with Garcia.
If the length and distance were the major difference makers, it is hard to believe that Pacquiao, who is a legend, but one on the decline, is going to be any more successful than Garcia. Pacquiao stands at 5’5 ½” (half an inch shorter than Garcia) and has a reach of 67” (one inch shorter than Garcia).
While a Spence/Pacquiao matchup won’t be the most competitive, it still could serve its purpose. Spence has made it clear that he wants to be the next face of the sport of boxing. He is aiming for superstardom. Pacquiao is still a marquee name that can still sell out a venue. And Spence proved last night that he can fill a venue as well. The two together have the potential to market and sell a mega fight and a win, retiring Pacquiao would certainly catapult Spence’s career to the next level.
With Pacquiao rapidly approaching the end of his career, what better way to end things than with a loss to the arguably best pound-for-pound fighter in the game. It’s certainly a better ending than say, retiring after a loss to Jeff Horn. It’s a story we are all familiar with. Manny Pacquiao did it to Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar De La Hoya did it to the great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.
It is highly likely if the fight takes place it will be in July back at AT&T Stadium.
We all want to see Spence/Crawford, but the politics in the sport will likely keep that from happening any time soon. So in the interim, why not Spence vs Pacquaio?
Flip the page for highlights of Spence totally dominating Mikey Garcia.