by Nick Giongco
LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao’s greatness and legendary status have come to a point that “he’s earned the right to pick what’s best for him,” the Filipino star’s right-hand man Sean Gibbons declared on Monday.
“At this age, he’s earned the right to pick what’s best for him and do you see any fans out there that are yelling for Errol Spence? Zero!” said Gibbons following Pacquiao’s epic win over previously unbeaten Keith Thurman over the weekend at the MGM Grand.
Gibbons said fight fans are excited to see Pacquiao regardless of who is on the opposite corner and not necessarily the division’s big guns.
“They wanna see Manny Pacquiao and whoever is on the other corner. They wanna see something that they feel is competitive. They don’t want a (Adrien) Broner, but a Danny Garcia or a Mikey Garcia,” he said.
Gibbons is also on the same page as Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who wants Pacquiao to sit out the remaining months of 2019 then return in the first quarter of 2020.
“The weird thing is he really could if he wanted to fight a certain type of fight. He could fight December but we’re not. At 40, let him relax, take three months just chill and do what he’s gotta do and then start to look if it’s Danny Garcia, Mikey Garcia.”
“Manny Pacquiao came up fighting all the great ones. What does he have to prove at 40? He just did. He just proved his greatness with Thurman,” added Gibbons.
“If he’s 30 years old, bring Errol Spence. He’ll kick the shit out of Errol Spence at 30 years old. That Manny Pacquiao wouldn’t even think about Errol Spence.”
Spence is meeting former Pacquiao sparmate Shawn Porter on Sept. 28 here in Los Angeles and ringsiders feel the winner is being lined up to lock horns with Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, who turns 41 in December, returned to the Philippines early Tuesday morning on a private plane that flew out of Las Vegas on late Sunday afternoon.
The jet, which was customized to accommodate eight people to give way to luxurious amenities, refueled in Anchorage, Alaska, before heading to Manila.
