"A 50 percent chance of winning" - Coach names surprise opponent for Manny Pacquiao's potential boxing return

Manny Pacquiao's boxing return could see the legend facing Terence Crawford.

'PacMan' hasn't competed since a unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021. Following the defeat, the legendary boxer announced his intentions to retire. However, after a failed bid for the Presidency of the Philippines the following year, Pacquiao returned to boxing.

That December, the former eight-division champion scored a dominant decision win over DK Yoo in an exhibition bout. This spring, Pacquiao is expected to face Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek in yet another exhibition.

There have also been murmurs of Pacquiao potentially facing Floyd Mayweather in a rematch as well. If the bout takes place, it would likely be an exhibition and the first time they would fight since their 2015 'Fight of the Century', where 'Money' famously defeated Pacquiao by decision.

However, if it's up to Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach, Justin Fortune, the legend would fight Crawford. The trainer has previously called for the bout against 'Bud' in the past. Fortune feels that the matchup would be a 50-50 fight.

Speaking to Lucky Block Casino, the coach explained (via Boxing Social):

“I don’t want to see Pacquiao-Mayweather 2, that would have been a great fight around a year or two after the first fight, when it was fresh in people’s memory, I’d rather see Pacquiao return against Crawford, that’s a massive payday and guess what, it’s a 50-50 fight. Manny has a 50 percent chance of winning because he’s still a freak athlete"

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Manny Pacquiao denied Olympic bid ahead of boxing return

Earlier this week, Manny Pacquiao's boxing return took a bit of a hit.

While 'PacMan' has called out a variety of opponents, he was most interested in competing at the 2024 Olympics. The legend didn't compete when he was a youth, and in 2016, rules were changed to allow professional boxers to compete.

However, due to his professional obligations, the eight-division champion couldn't fight in the Olympics. Now 45 years old, Pacquiao announced his plans to try to win a gold medal for his home country last year.

Sadly, that won't be happening. Last week, the International Olympic Committee denied Pacquiao's request to compete later this year. They cited a rule that athletes must be under 40 years old in order to compete at the Summer Games.

With that, it seems that Pacquiao will instead return to the ranks of professional boxing. Luckily for his coach, Justin Fortune, the aforementioned Terence Crawford is unbooked as of now.