MASAM SPORTS 61: THE RUMORED MANNY PACQUIAO EXHIBITION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 01 Jul 2022
Former light welterweight champion Amir Khan disclosed that there were tentative proposals from Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach to schedule a fight with former eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao in an exhibition fight after the former senator lost his Presidential candidacy last May.
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“Well, a friend of mine got a phone call from Freddie Roach, who just said that, ‘Listen, we want to get a fight. Manny didn’t win the election. Let’s do like an exhibition with Manny, or maybe a proper fight.’ They want to do it in the UK,” Khan was quoted in iFL TV.
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Khan held unified light-welterweight world championships between 2009 and 2012, including the WBA and IBF titles. He worked as Pacquiao’s sparring partner in past fights, has been chasing a big money fight with the Filipino world boxing champ throughout his career. He announced his retirement earlier this year after losing to Kell Brook by a sixth-round technical knockout.
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As an amateur boxer, Khan won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2004 Olympics, becoming at the age of 17, Britain's youngest boxing Olympic medalist. He later became one of the youngest ever British professional world champions, winning the WBA title at the age of 22.
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Pacquiao officially retired from boxing right before he declared his candidacy for President. In his last fight last August he lost his WBA welterweight title to Yordenis Ugas by unanimous decision.
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“You know what, all that bullsh!t, chasing Mayweather, chasing Manny Pacquiao – you know, it was not meant to happen then, maybe it’s not meant to happen now,” Khan was quoted by BoxingScene. “I’m not going to chase them now.”
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“I kind of laughed about it. I didn’t even want to mention it because it’s probably all bollocks, to be honest with you," added Khan.
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Meanwhile renowned boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino thinks that Manny Pacquiao fighting in exhibitions after he announced his retirement would hurt his legacy.
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“We do not want Manny Pacquiao taking this route, but there is so much money in boxing,” Tolentino was quoted in Sparring Sessions LIVE.
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“His legacy is already intact though there were greats like Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey and Rocky Marciano who did exhibitions during their prime but that was to promote boxing. This one, people would say he is tarnishing his legacy if he fights that kind of fight.”
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Tolentino said that one of the reasons why legends such as Pacquiao could ruin his legacy is because they are stepping down to the level of fighting anybody in an exhibition. One rumored opponent would be a South Korean martial artist.
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“If this exhibition happens this would not be the end of it. Pacquiao's return, in a way, a lot of people out there are anticipating,” said Tolentino.
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“He does not deserve the opponent he is fighting an exhibition. Not both of them are legends. When you see a legend doing this, you kind of become a laughingstock because it is not like two comedians fighting. People would think you are going down to their level.”
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Kyrie Irving to LA Lakers trade is alive after Kevin Durant’s trade request, the Nets opened the possibility of moving any player, including Irving. The Lakers are one of the only teams willing to put up a trade package focused on Russell Westbrook and has quickly become far more of an option, as reported by Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic.
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A reliable source disclosed this in the aftermath of the Durant trade request, and it lifts the Lakers’ odds. As The Athletic reported, Irving was hyper-focused on transferring to the Lakers in the days and weeks leading up to the making of his decision as posted in SB Nation.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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