Manny Pacquiao is being targeted for a second encounter with a former rival.
The eight-division world champion made a shock return to the sport earlier this month, facing reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 46-year-old Filipino icon hadn’t fought in just under four years, with his most recent ring appearance against former WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas ending in a unanimous decision defeat.
Despite a valiant effort from ‘Pac-Man’, he ultimately fell short against ‘El Azteca’ as the fight was declared a majority decision draw, with two out of the three judges scoring the contest 114-114 even, whilst the other had it 115-113 in favour of the champion.
One of Pacquiao’s former foes has now had plenty to say about the Filipino star, and it happens to be the last man that ‘Pac-Man’ defeated back in 2019.
Speaking to YSM Sports Media, former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman made a shock claim about Pacquiao, where he claims his past rival is his ‘own referee’ before going on to welcome a rematch with the 46-year-old.
“Manny Pacquiao’s his own referee. I don’t know how much you know about Manny Pacquiao’s history, he calls for breaks, he calls his own low blows, he’ll deduct a point from you when he wants to so you gotta be careful with Manny Pacquiao being his own judge in there.
“You know it’s hard, there’s a part of me that would love an opportunity to get back in this arena to fight Manny Pacquiao again, for myself, for my record, for the fans, but you know I’m just going to look and see what comes next man, because I’m gonna be fighting this year guaranteed.”
Pacquiao dethroned Thurman of his WBA welterweight title to become the oldest welterweight champion of all time at 40-years-old, a record he was looking to break when he met Barrios.
As for Thurman, he made his long-awaited return to the ring earlier this year, stopping Australia’s Brock Jarvis in the third round of their bout in Sydney, and is now targeting fights against the likes of Pacquiao and Jaron Ennis.
