Manny Pacquiao Warned Against Fighting Gennady Golovkin, Better Off With Crawford, Spence

Current WBA welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao was warned against taking on IBF middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin.

Amid several talks of a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather and a unification bout against Terrence Crawford, Pacquiao is now linked to a superfight against middleweight champ Golovkin. The Filipino legend’s trusted coach and trainer Freddie Roach revealed the bizarre idea during a recent interview.

According to Roach, the eight-division title holder might want to move up again and face Golovkin and the like. “(Pacquiao) wants to fight the top guys. But the thing is, Manny might want to go a little bit higher and fight GGG or one of those guys who’s supposed to be the best," he said.

While Golovkin vs. Pacquiao may sound a bit far from reality at this point, some believe that it is still possible. However, another boxing personality who was closed to Pacquiao thinks the idea was “stupid.”

In a recent interview with Sportsmail (via Daily Mail), Pacquiao's long-time former promoter Bob Arum got candid about Golovkin vs. Pacquiao. Arum believes that a fight against a much bigger Golovkin would be a huge mistake for Pacquiao, whom he described as barely welterweight.

“It’s a stupid fight. I know Golovkin appears to be over the hill, but it’s a fight that could be very dangerous for Pacquiao,” Arum predicted.

“He isn't even a welterweight really let alone a middleweight. His best fighting weight is 140, at 147 I think he’s pretty much outsized by all the good welterweights,” he added.

The Top Rank boss also pointed out that Pacquiao may have proven himself against bigger opponents several times, especially in his last fight against Keith Thurman. However, Arum still thinks that taking on Golovkin “would be silly.” The 88-year-old once again suggested that Pacquiao would be a much better match-up against his fighter Crawford or the returning superstar Errol Spence Jr.

“I know he fought Keith Thurman, who had lost his desire to fight and had been out so long, but he would have a real test against Terence Crawford or Errol Spence, guys like that. Maybe he could beat them, I don’t know. He thinks he can, but to go up any higher would be silly,” he added.

Meanwhile, Golockin’s trainer Jonathon Banks revealed that “GGG” is still looking forward to a trilogy fight against his middleweight nemesis Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Banks said Golovkin “would be happy to face Canelo at 160 or 168.”