Freddie Roach Says Manny Pacquiao Will Fight In February, Hints At Next Opponent

Coach Freddie Roach finally spoke about Manny Pacquiao’s return and hinted at the next opponent of the Filipino legend now that Errol Spence Jr. could be out of the picture.

Following a serious car accident, the chances of a Pacquiao vs. Spence fight seems to slim down. However, Roach still think that the said fight is the best fight for the eight-division title holder.

Assuming that Spence will not be healthy enough to make the fight with Pacquiao, Roach has a second option as his fighter make another return in the boxing ring.

In a recent media scrum with FightHype.com, Roach revealed that Team Pacquiao has been eyeing to book a fight in February next year.

“I believe in February. They’ve been talking about a February fight,” Roach revealed.

When asked about who would be Pacquiao’s opponent since Spence could still be recovering by that time, Roach was quick to answer Danny Garcia.

“Danny Garcia looks like a good fight. He’s a hell of a fighter,” Roach said.

Just over a week ago, Mikey Garcia hinted at a possibility of facing Pacquiao in his next fight. However, based on Roach’s point of view, a fight with Mikey is not the fight fans will be rooting for at this point. The veteran trainer also emphasized that Mikey needs to put his name back on the map by winning a decisive or impressive win.

“Mikey Garcia, he lost badly in his last fight. I don’t think people will be interested in that so much,” Roach said.

“To make that (Pacquiao) fight he has to win,” Roach added.

Another challenger might enter the scene as Shawn Porter, who is coming off a decision loss to Spence, recently claimed that a fight with Pacquiao is “realistic.” According to Porter, the only fight that fans would like to see right now is Pacquiao vs. Porter.

“Me and Pac (Pacquiao) is realistic,” Porter said.

Porter strongly believes that the Pacquiao fight makes “more than enough” sense and it will all boil down to whether “Pacman” would say yes or no.

“The fight with Manny Pacquiao and Shawn Porter – I think that makes more than enough sense. If ya’ll want something exciting, if ya’ll want a great fight, competitive fight you get that from Shawn Porter and Manny Pacquiao,” Porter pointed out.

Now that Pacquiao is likely to set foot inside the ring again in February, it is still a possibility that Floyd Mayweather could be his next opponent.

Reports claim that Pacquiao and Mayweather’s camps are already negotiating a deal towards the much awaited rematch of both future boxing hall of famers.