BOXING legend Manny Pacquiao will fight unified welterweight world champ Errol Spence Jr on August 21.
It’s the 42-year-old’s first bout since he fought Keith Thurman in July 2019.
Pacquiao confirmed the news on his Instagram account earlier this evening.
The Filipino fighter is a legend of the sport as the only eight-division world champ in boxing history.
He appeared to have bowed out in style when he defeated Thurman two years ago – becoming the sport’s oldest welterweight champion – but has since stated his desire to return to the ring.
Spence, meanwhile, is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
The 31-year-old has continued to win since knocking out Kell Brook in 2017, defeating Lamont Peterson, Carlos Ocampo, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia.
Spence is an undefeated, unified champ with a 27-0 record, while Pacquiao has won 62 of his 71 bouts, drawing two.
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The bout has been on the cards for while, with Spence revealing his desire to fight Pacquiao exclusively to SunSport in October 2020.
He said: “I would like to fight Manny Pacquiao. He’s on his way out so I’d love to have that fight.
“He’s a living legend, and I’ve never fought someone of that calibre. He’s big and not just a boxing star, he’s an icon, a mega-star.
“That would be different and it would send me somewhere else popularity-wise.
“Pacquiao has been in the sport 20-something years, he’s an icon even outside the sport. Everybody knows who Manny Pacquiao is.
“That would be a great fight for me.”
Pacquiao’s camp have also previously discussed the fight, with his strength and conditioning trainer Justin Fortune telling SunSport that Spence isn’t the same fighter since his car crash in October 2019.
Fortune said: “Spence is a great fighter and a good champion, but he’s not the same guy that he was before, not at all.
“We saw that when he fought Danny Garcia. Everyone raves about how hard Spence punches, well Danny Garcia came through 12 rounds.
“Danny Garcia also never pulled the trigger that night, or else Danny would probably have beaten him, I think.
“You put Spence in there with someone like Pacquiao now, Pacquiao obliterates him, even a 42-years-old.
“He’s still the No1 guy and he has been the champion for the last 18 years, that in itself is a phenomenal f***ing feat as an athlete in sport.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
