Manny Pacquiao stated that he never stopped his training, regardless of whether it was for a full-fledged comeback to the sport, like he is about to undertake, or an exhibition fight like the one he has booked for April.
Following a face-to-face meeting with Conor Benn of England, Pacquiao, 45, told BoxingScene on Thursday that he plans to depart Saudi Arabia this weekend with a signed contract to fight the 27-year-old.
Moments after being questioned in Saudi Arabia for DAZN’s live broadcast of the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou weigh-in, Pacquiao told BoxingScene:
“I’m in shape, ready to go, and the months we gave them [to schedule the fight] are May and June,”
Manny Pacquiao still trains hard
A month into his preparation for an April 20 exhibition matchup against the legendary Muay Thai/kickboxer Buakaw Banchamek, Pacquiao said he hasn’t strayed from his customary training program that helped him become the first-ever eight-division boxing champion and the undisputed pound-for-pound champion.
After losing to Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas on scorecards by a close margin in 2021, it looked as though Pacquiao would retire. However, he claimed that while training, his competitive spirit returned, and the prospect of facing Benn was raised.
Why would Manny want to fight Ben Conor ?
Why Ben? That’s the question on everyone’s lips . Of all the people.
After testing positive for the prohibited women’s fertility drug clomifene in 2022, the self-assured son of former champion and U.K. great Nigel Benn resurfaced from a 2022 ban and went on to win two more fights, extending his record to 23-0 with 14 KOs. Manny said,
“He’s popular here [in Saudi Arabia and the U.K.] and he’s willing to fight me now,”
“I’ve seen it. He has a lot of fans here. I expect us to finalize it this weekend, and I think we’ll fight here in Saudi Arabia.”
Pacquiao expressed his gratitude to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh for welcoming him back and for all of the assistance he has provided to boxing and sports in general. He had previously visited the Joshua-Ngannou fight site in Riyadh.
Benn stated that he is drawn to face Pacquiao because “the public demands it, and I’ll fight any man, any legend” during the DAZN weigh-in broadcast. Now let’s put pen to paper and get it done.”