It didn’t take Manny Pacquiao long to break down how a fantasy fight between himself and Errol Spence Jr. would have gone down had they boxed in 2021 like they were rumored to.
It was a time in which Spence was already established not only as a unified welterweight boxing champion, but as a ticket-seller in Texas, and a transcendant fighter who had built relationships with Dallas Cowboys players and musical artists, too.
He was 27-0 (21 KOs). He had a lot of what it would take to become an even bigger star in the American market. And so Pacquiao was an ideal opponent to breakout against as a bigger box office attraction, just like how Pacquiao took on, and beat, Oscar de la Hoya, before he own pay-per-view run.
“I wanted to fight him because I know I can easily beat him,” Pacquiao said during an episode of the ‘Inside The Ring’ show on DAZN.
Pacquiao, at that time, was still a 71-fight veteran. He’d seen it all, done it all, and had won it all.
But he insists he’d not have been the de la Hoya in this match-up.
And, to have beaten him, the secret would have been “with speed.”
He said: “It’s not about strength, or how strong the punch is. It’s about skills and abilities in the ring and how you move. That’s boxing. That’s the secret to being an eight-division champion.”
Pacquiao went on to box Yordenis Ugas but lost so badly he was seen on video days later, unable to open his eyes from the bruising, getting spoon-fed by his wife, Jinkee Pacquiao. He returned to the ring in 2025 after almost four years away and ripped up the script to almost beat Mario Barrios in a somewhat unfair majority draw.
Spence, meanwhile, defeated Ugas by 10th-round finish before a stunning ninth-round knockout loss to career rival Terence Crawford in 2023. He’s not fought since but has been linked with a summer showdown against Tim Tszyu.
The last we heard was that Spence was “still thinking” about his comeback, but would only compete for the right fight.
