Quite the contrast Senator Manny vs Adrien Broner

New York — Dressed in a sharp gray suit and tie, Manny Pacquiao looked every bit the senator he is. It was his other job, though, that he was working Monday when the eight-time champion announced a Jan. 19 defense of his WBA welterweight belt against Adrien Broner.

"He's one of the top boxers out there," Pacquiao said of Broner, who attended the news conference in slightly different garb: torn jeans adorned with spangles, a T-shirt and black jacket. "Adrien Broner is a high-caliber fighter. "I have no problem to fight at 140 (pounds), it's my natural weight. I can't say I am avoiding (opponents), that is not my style. I am willing to find other fighters to fight, too, I am available to fight at 140, 147. It is 147 for this fight."

Pacquiao will be 40 when he enters the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to take on the 29-year-old Broner. It will be the Filipino's 70th fight in a career that began in 1995 and has included titles in weight classes from flyweight to welterweight. He hasn't fought in the United States in two years. Referred to by his followers as Senator Manny, Pacquiao won and then lost the WBO welterweight crown following his lopsided loss to Floyd Mayweather in a May 2015 megafight. In July, he knocked out Lucas Matthysse for the WBA title, Pacquiao's first KO victory since 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the final round. /