Manny Pacquiao will not guarantee that he will keep boxing after his upcoming bout with Yordenis Ugas, but he told ESPN that if he continues his career, he would like to fight Terence Crawford or Errol Spence Jr.
“I don’t know if this is going to be my last [time in the ring], we are going to see fight by fight,” Pacquiao said Wednesday during an interview with ESPN KnockOut. “But if I have the possibility of making one more fight, then I would like to face the best — either Terence Crawford or Errol Spence.”
Pacquiao said he was happy to have the chance to fight Ugas even though his original opponent, Spence, was forced to withdraw last week because of a right eye injury. Ugas, who originally was scheduled to face Fabian Maidana on the undercard, took the fight on short notice and will square off Saturday night with Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Crawford and Spence are considered the two best welterweights in the division and two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs), 42, of the Philippines, is a -360 favorite to defeat Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs), 35, of Cuba, according to Caesars Sportsbook. And while his trainer, Freddie Roach, assured that the end of the battle will come by knockout, Pacquiao was more cautious.
“I’m sure he says that because he saw me training with a lot of discipline and passion because the fight with Spence was coming, but we will try to do our best in the ring,” Pacquiao said. “We hope that everyone will like the fight.”
Pacquiao reiterated that the change of opponents has not been a problem because he’s faced orthodox fighters plenty of times throughout his career. He said it was only a matter of a day or two in camp to reset his mindset, leave Spence behind and focus on Ugas, who will defend the WBA super welterweight world title.