By CARLO ANOLIN
Former opponents of Manny Pacquiao have added their voice to the boxing icon’s mega-bout against unified WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. on August 21.
Both Jessie Vargas and Timothy Bradley Jr. believe that while it is a good fight to watch, Spence would gain the upper hand over the eight-division world boxing champion.
For Vargas, Pacquiao is taking a “big risk” for facing the top guy in his division, not to mention the age difference between the two welterweights.
“Manny’s a little older but still a champion, he’s still at peak but y’know, Errol Spence seems like younger and stronger and he’s in his prime. It might be a dangerous fight for Manny Pacquiao,” Vargas, who lost to Pacquiao in November 2016, told FightHype. “I think Manny Pacquiao’s gonna have to give it all he has one last shot, y’know what I mean? For him to win. But Spence is no joke, he’s the real deal.”
Bradley, who fought Pacquiao in a trilogy in 2012, 2014, and 2016, commended Pacquiao’s tenacity at age 42 but still chose the 31-year-old Spence as the winner.
“Pacquiao’s a tough guy man. 42-year-old, been out of the ring for some time now but Errol Spence is a beast,” said Bradley in a separate interview with FightHub. “He got that jab, controls the distance, and knows how to control everything.”
The fighting senator has been inactive since scoring a split decision win over Keith Thurman in July 2019 to improve at 62-7-2 record on top of 39 knockouts.
Due to his inactivity, Pacquiao got stripped of his super WBA welterweight belt and was declared “champion in recess.”
For his part, Spence scored 21 KO wins in 27 bouts. His latest win was a unanimous decision over Danny Garcy in December last year.
The final venue is yet to be finalized but the mega-bout is set in Las Vegas, Nevada.
