Pacquiao unretiring for Benn?

MANILA, Philippines — There’s a strong possibility that eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face undefeated British welterweight Conor Benn sometime this year and the fight could be held before 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London.

MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons said yesterday Pacquiao and Benn met each other during the recent weigh-in of the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou fight in Saudi Arabia. The connection was instant, almost like a fatal attraction, and talks were quickly initiated to stage a duel. Pacquiao, 45, and Benn, 27, are years apart in age but Gibbons said they’re made for each other in the ring. “Benn brings a very complementary style to Manny,” said Gibbons. “He’s aggressive, he comes to you, he’s open, he lets his hands fly so that leaves Manny to do his beautiful counter-punching. The guy likes to fight so that’s another thing Manny likes. He’s different from (Yordenis) Ugas who was like a lobster shell, a snail, very difficult to fight, very large guy. Benn, size-wise, is 5-7 and matches up well with Manny whose speed, power and everything will suit a welterweight while Ugas was more like a lightheavyweight.”

Ugas was Pacquiao’s last opponent and the Cuban scored a unanimous 12-round decision to wrest the super WBA welterweight crown in Las Vegas in 2021. “It was very close and a lot of experts thought Manny won seven of the 12 rounds,” said Gibbons. “Since then, Manny did an exhibition in Korea and will do another exhibition in Thailand next month. He’s never really stopped. He’s itching to fight again, he loves to fight, he misses it. He’s up at 6 a.m. to do his running then he’s at the gym in the afternoon. Being 45 is nothing to Manny. He was 40 when he beat Keith Thurman who was 29 and undefeated. Manny dropped Thurman in the first round to set the pace then Thurman woke up, fought his way back but got caught with a big shot in the 10th. That was a clear 7-5 win for Manny.”

Benn was suspended for the alleged use of a prohibited drug last year but the National Anti-Doping Panel has lifted the ban to clear him to fight twice in the US. The British Boxing Board of Control, however, sustained the suspension although it has been appealed and may be revoked anytime. Benn turned pro in 2016 and has a 23-0 record with 14 KOs. A common opponent with Pacquiao is Chris Algieri whom Benn stopped in four rounds in 2021. Pacquiao scored six knockdowns in outpointing Algieri in 2014.