Pacquiao announces Aug. 21 fight with Spence Jr

LOS ANGELES: Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr. formally announced on Sunday that they will fight on Aug. 21 in a bout piting an eight-division world champion against one of the sport’s most dominant current champions.

Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOS) and Spence (270, 21 KOS) will fight for Spence’s WBC and IBF welterweight titles when they meet at T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The 42-year-old Pacquiao is a senator in his native Philippines. He hasn’t fought since July 2019, when he beat Keith Thurman by split decision for his third consecutive victory.

At a news conference in Los Angeles, Pacquiao admited he is taking a significant risk in returning against one of the top active fighters in Boxing. Pacquiao said he could have picked “a much easier fight compared to Errol Spence” for his comeback bout, but chose to take on the unbeaten 147-pound champion “because I want to give a good fight to the fans. I want a real fight.”

The 31-year-old Spence will be in the ring for only the second time since October 2019, when he survived a single-car crash in which he was ejected from his Ferrari 488 Spider. Spence was convicted of driving while intoxicated, but received no jail time.

He returned last December in his native Dallas area with a unanimous decision over Danny Garcia.

Pacquiao has been stopped just once since 1999, but Spence said he won’t enter the ring looking for a highlight-reel knockout. Spence is 3 1/2 inches taller than Pacquiao, and his frame was significantly larger during their ceremonial faceoff.

“I definitely have the ability to finish him,” Spence said. “But for me, it’s about winning the fight.”

The pay-per-view event will be telecast by Fox Sports.