Manny Pacquiao is clearly serious about returning at 44.
Sean Gibbons, future advisor to the Hall of Famer, said his client has agreed to take on 147-pound opponent Conor Benn and is waiting for a response from Eddie Hearn, Benn’s promoter.
No potential date or site was mentioned.
Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) has not entered a sanctioned match since August 2021, when he lost to Yordenis Ugas and subsequently ‘retired’. He participated in an exhibition with DK Yoo this past December.
“Senator Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight Conor Benn,” Gibbons said PlanetSport.com. “Do me a favor, call Eddie Hearn. The ball is in his field. Senator Manny Pacquiao is delighted to be fighting Conor Benn.”
Pacquiao turned to politics after giving up boxing, failing in his bid to become president of the Philippines last May.
Gibbons said around the time of the Yoo event, Pacquiao expressed his desire to rematch.
Gibbons said: “He retired for a minute running for president of the Philippines, where he won a respectable third place. GAME last month. “And then he felt that his retirement was due to running for president, and now that [he wasn’t elected]He wants to fight again and feels he can do it at the highest level.”
A fight with Benn (21-0, 14 KOs) would be complicated.
The son of retired champion Nigel Benn is scheduled to face fellow British Chris Eubank Jr. 8 but the event was canceled after Benn tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended.
The WBC eventually cleared him of willfully breaking the rules. However, he remains suspended in the UK, a ruling that could mean the fight will have to take place overseas.
Hearn admitted last month that Benn had been negotiating with Pacquiao for some time.
“We are in the process of selecting Conor Benn’s next opponent and have been actively negotiating with Manny Pacquiao’s team,” Hearn told ESPN. “We have received numerous requests for an event venue and are looking to make an official announcement regarding Conor’s next game.”
Pacquiao also expressed interest in fighting Kell Brook if he can’t get Benn into the ring.
