Let’s just file this one under wait and see.
Former pound for pound star and still well regarded welterweight contender Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) is making a bold claim to Filipino news outlets. The 39 year old year is reporting that he will be fighting popular but controversial fringe contender Adrien Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) on either “January 12th or January 19th.” It has previously been reported that the Filipino legend has signed on with Al Haymon, clearing the way for him to meet PBC fighters like Broner.
That would both likely be a reasonably competitive fight and one that could do great numbers for whichever of Premier Boxing Champion’s outlets put on the broadcast. Presumably it would be either Showtime or FOX, though I don’t think we can entirely rule out a PPV here. I’d call that route unlikely at least. My gut tells me Showtime would broadcast given its history with Broner and the fact that the controversial fighter’s consistently questionable antics might not be best suited for a broadcast network like FOX.
It’s that persona that has kept the Cincinnati fighter in contention for major opportunities like this potential Pacquiao fight, not his ring results. Broner was viewed as fortunate to get a draw instead of a loss against Jessie Vargas and he lost to Mikey Garcia despite a big size advantage before that. Many thought he shouldn’t have gotten the decision against Adrian Granados three fights ago either, though that one was really close at least. Still, his bravado, swagger, and unpredictable behavior have kept “The Problem” pulling in big numbers for Showtime in each of his fights.
Manny Pacquiao hasn’t been all that active in recent years with all his government duties in the Philippines as a senator, but he’s had largely good results when he has been in the ring. 2016 saw him beat clearly both Jessie Vargas and Tim Bradley. Last year he suffered an official loss to Jeff Horn, but few watching scored it for the larger Australian besides the judges. In July Pacman dominated and knocked out former top fighter Lucas Matthysse as well in what was heralded as a throwback performance by most viewers. I wasn’t one of them as I just saw Manny being Manny and Matthysse having nothing left, but I still think he’s an elite welterweight.
If this fight were to happen, and that’s a big if, I’d favor Pacquiao pretty heavily. I think most everyone would. Broner just doesn’t move his hands enough to win fights on the sport’s highest level. He’ll sure make a show of it in all likelihood though, for better or worse. Plus, Manny will be 40 then. Maybe he’ll slow down enough for Adrien to catch.
