Undisputed 140lbs champion Josh Taylor grew up idolising Filipino marvel Manny Pacquiao but wonders if WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence may be a gamble too far for the evergreen, eight-division champion.
Pacquiao, now 42, will re-emerge from a 25-month ring hiatus when he faces Texan Spence on August 21 in Las Vegas, in the latest chapter of a majestic, and often logic defying, career.
Long-time admirer Taylor fears Pacquiao may be jumping in too deep after such a long break, but also feels you can never rule out the Filipino legend, especially after watching recent training footage.
“[Spence] is big for the weight, really big for welterweight,” Scotland’s Taylor told Talksport. “He is huge, a really big lad, so I think he might be a bit too big for Pacquiao and young and fresh and hungry.
“So, I think it might be a bit of a step too far for Pacquiao.
“But I’ve watched [Pacquiao] training recently and videos of him, he looks like he has rolled back the years! He looks like he has got sharper and faster as a 40-year-old!
“It’s unbelievable; he is still doing it and he is an absolute living legend of the sport.”