Manny Pacquiao vs. Terence Crawford: Bob Arum is in ‘serious talks’ to hold major welterweight face-off in Bahrain this year

Boxing promoter Bob Arum further ignites the speculations on a Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford match this year. Arum confirms he is in “serious talks” to make it happen and possibly have the event in Bahrain.

Manny Pacquiao could fight Terence Crawford in Bahrain this year

Pacquiao’s return to the ring has been highly anticipated this summer – about a year since he last fought against Keith Thurman and won the WBA welterweight title. Unfortunately, plans might have been changed due to coronavirus.

What has not changed is the fact that many welterweight greats today want to fight Pacquiao. That includes the undefeated Crawford, who also currently holds the WBO welterweight belt since 2018.

Crawford is under Arum’s Top Rank, the boxing promotional company that used to represent Pacquiao as well. And in a recent interview with iFL TV, Arum confirmed that he is still actively pursuing a match between his old and new welterweight star. “We hope you get Crawford and Pacquiao in action this year, and through our friends at MTK, we are in serious talks with Bahrain with doing major fights there,” Arum said.

There were previous reports that Pacquiao’s next fight could happen in Saudi Arabia, although nothing has been finalized yet before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. Bahrain also appears to be a logical choice, especially after the country was confirmed to host the Global Boxing Summit later this year.

Crawford, on the other hand, recognized the opportunities that come with a match against Pacquiao. Aside from the immense bragging rights, if he defeated the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing, the status of this match-up should also come with a lucrative paycheck.

Freddie Roach says Pac Man might go after Gennadiy Golovkin

Aside from Crawford, Errol Spence Jr. has also repeatedly said he wants to have Pacquiao as one of his next opponents. Spence unified the IBF and WBC welterweight titles after defeating Shawn Porter last September.

Pacquiao’s long-time coach Freddie Roach confirmed that age does not stop Pac Man from wanting to fight the best, albeit younger, boxers in the world. In an interview with DAZN’s Chris Mannix, Roach even suggested Pacquiao might consider fighting the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin, who has an 83.33% knockout wins in his professional career, per BoxRec.