Manny Pacquiao signs to Al Haymon

Filipian boxing icon Manny Pacquiao officially confirmed on Monday (October 22nd) that he has penned a deal which will see him become a fixture on Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions stable.

For the 39-year old modern great (60-7-2), it’s a move that indicates retirement isn’t in his sights in the particularly near future, instead insisting that signing with the influential adviser will sate his continuing desire for meaningful and lucrative fights.

It does mean that a contest with a would-be opponent who would fit that description in Terence Crawford is now exceedingly unlikely despite the possibility of it being oft-discussed in recent months. This being because ‘Bud’ is represented by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, who Pacquiao has seemingly had a less than amicable split with in this move to Haymon.

What does seem probable however is the potential of showdowns against fellow new stablemates of his, with Pacquiao himself stating in a press release that he now wishes to fight fellow leading fighters under the PBC banner.

“I’m very excited about this new chapter in my career and I’m looking forward to a fresh start,” said the eight-weight world champion. “I’m reinvigorated by the prospects of bringing up new fighters under the MP (Manny Pacquiao) Promotions banner. My team will work closely with Al Haymon for the remainder of my career to deliver the most anticipated fights with the top PBC fighters. Those are the fights the fans want to see and the ones I want to have to close out my career.”

With Haymon running a bit of a monopoly on the top fighters at welterweight, this opens up the door for possible match-ups with several belt-holders at the weight in the shape of Errol Spence Jr. (IBF), Shawn Porter (WBC) and the soon-to-be returning Keith Thurman (WBA). While perhaps the most sought after option for Pacquiao will be a rematch with the supposedly returning Floyd Mayweather.

Whatever the case, what is apparently in Manny Pacquiao’s immediate future is a fight with Adrien Broner – also represented by Haymon – which has been widely rumoured for January. A bout which would constitute his third in as many calendar years, after he returned from his much-debated 2017 setback at the hands of Jeff Horn with a dominating display this past July where he dispatched Lucas Matthysse in seven rounds.