WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 27-0 (21) says he will be the last man to face Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao 62-7-2 (39) in a prize ring when they clash in an all-southpaw showdown at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 21.
“I think he’ll definitely retire after this fight,” Spence said to Showtime on the weekend, but he was noncommital when asked if he expected to knock out the 42-year-old senator.
“I don’t know, we’ll see. You’ll have to tune in and order.”
Pacquiao last fought two years ago when he won a split decision over previously undefeated American Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman 29-1 (22) to claim the WBA 147-pound title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Thurman recovered from an opening-round knockdown to make the fight close on the card, going down by scores of 114-113 and 112-115 twice.
Pacquiao says the lengthy layoff has only benefited him following a pro career going back an extraordinary 26 years.
“It’s a good thing for me that I have off for two years [from] boxing because I’ve been in boxing how many years?” Pacquiao said to Fox Sports’ Heidi Androl during a press conference a week ago.
“I started boxing since I was 12 years old and until now, so it’s good for me that I have a layoff for two years. So, when I get back to training, I feel like hungry to focus on and dedicated to my training and make sure that I’m 100-percent conditioned, and that’s my drive.”
Pacquiao admitted that he has had to change his training regime the older he has gotten, working smarter not harder to allow his body sufficient time to recover between sessions.
“Well, I’ll tell you this – it’s different than what I did before because when you’re young, when you push yourself in the day training, you can recover [from] that overnight,” Pacquiao said.
“But when you’re like this age, it’s you need your body time to recover. You cannot push, push, push. Like when you push this day, and tomorrow light training, not too heavy. And then the next day you can push again like that. But before, when I was young, [I was] like every day pushing, pushing to the limit like that.”
One way that Pacquiao keeps himself in shape between fights is by shooting hoops.
“I love to workout,” he said. “I always exercised by playing basketball. I have a basketball court in my house. We had very competitive and hard games between my brothers. We played every day like three-to-four hours a day… The secret is discipline and hard work. Boxing is not only training.”
If Spence, 31, is successful against Pacquiao, he wants to face WBO welterweight boss Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 37-0 (28) next.
“I definitely want that fight and we’ve just got to make it happen,” Spence said.
“It’s for his guys and my guys to talk to each other and see if it can happen. If it can’t happen, I’ve got to move up.”
