Pac Man should cash in, then check out

Debt-addled fighter expected to face Broner next in LV

Manny Pacquiao posted a tweet this week with a graphic to announce his signing with Premier Boxing Champions.

In the picture, the former eight-divisionchampionis staring at a circle of fighters that includes Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence, Shawn Porter and Adrien Broner as they surround Floyd Mayweather.

Is Pacquiao trying to insinuate he wants to fight all these elite boxers with Mayweather as the grand prize? Did he and PBC forget he turns 40 in December? Isn’t he an active senator in the Philippines?

That’s a lot on Pac Man’s plate. “I’m very excited about this new chapter in my career, and I’m looking forward to a fresh start,” Pacquiao said in a statement. “My team will work closely with (PBC adviser) Al Haymon for the remainder of my careertodeliverthemostanticipated fights with the top PBC fighters. Thosearethefightsthefanswantto seeandtheonesiwanttohaveto close out my career.’’

Pacquiao’s first chapter with PBC will be a Jan. 19 bout against Broner, a person close to the situation confirmed. It’s expected to take place in Las Vegas, with the MGM Grand Garden Arena as the front-runner to land the bout, according to the person.

Where was this enthusiasm to fight youngup-and-comerswhenpacquiao was still with Top Rank? The past few years, fight fans hoped for Pacquiao to fight Vasiliy Lomachenko and Terence Crawford.

The main reason Pacquiao didn’t fight them was probably money-related. Lomachenko and Crawford, arguably the two best pound-forpound fighters, aren’t big-money draws yet. Neither are Spence, Porter and Garcia.

Broner isn’t on the level of those fighters, but he at least has proven he can generate dollar signs. And, of course, a fight with Mayweather would give any fighter life-changing money.

Pacquiao collected a nine-figure paycheck from fighting Mayweather in 2015 and has made plenty of money in the past decade, but somehow he has financial issues.

That might be why his career is continuing, and not because he’s eager to add a new chapter to his careerthatalreadyisoneofthebest in boxing history.

Pacquiaoowesaneight-figure debt to the IRS, according to reports. That’s why the Filipino legend has fought his past two fights in Australia and Malaysia.

PBC probably will take care of the tab to bring Pac Man back to the United States. He’ll easily be able to pay the company back after fights with Broner and Mayweather.

Let’s hope those are the last two fights for Pacquiao. Boxing doesn’t need another legend tarnishing his legacy by staying too long.

Middleweight title fight

Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko share a trainer and have sparred with each other many times.

Now they’re fighting without the headgear and with a world title on the line.

Jacobs and Derevyanchenko will meet for the vacant IBF middleweight title Saturday in an Hbo-televised main event at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York. The coverage airs at 7 p.m.

Trainer Andre Rozier will be in Jacobs’ corner, and Rozier assistant Gary Stark Sr. will lead Derevyanchenko’s corner.

Jacobs, a native of Brooklyn, New York, estimated he and the fighter from Ukraine have sparred with each other more than 300 rounds.

They’re fighting for Gennady Golovkin’s belt, which he had stripped by the IBF for not fighting Derevyanchenko in May when Saul “Canelo”alvarezwithdrewfrom theirrematch.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gmanzano24 on Twitter.