Bob Arum promoted Manny Pacquiao for over 13 years and although that partnership dissolved, the venerable Top Rank founder and CEO still believes that the WBA (Super) welterweight champion is a very capable boxer.
That being said, Arum just warns the 41-year-old Pacquiao, boxing pundits and fans alike that the boxing legend should stay clear of his top charge, WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
"Pacquiao doesn't want to fight him," Arum told Fight Hub TV of what would be a welterweight title unification bout. "Leave Pacquiao alone. He's an old man. He doesn't want to fight Crawford. He didn't want to fight him when I was promoting him. It's no disgrace — Pacquiao not fighting Crawford. Pacquiao is not competitive with Crawford. He's a great fighter still, but he's not competitive with (Crawford)."
The general consensus is that the undefeated Crawford and unified IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. are too big and aggressive for Pacquiao at this point. Crawford and Spence each clamored for a shot against Pacquiao last year, only to watch "Pac-Man" choose Keith Thurman last July, instead. Despite being 10 years older than Thurman, Pacquiao produced a brilliant boxing performance to win by split decision and become the new WBA (Super) welterweight champion of the world.
After Mikey Garcia scored a unanimous decision over Jessie Vargas in February for his first win in the welterweight division, he called out Pacquiao for a fight. The two had been rumored to be negotiating to cement a bout before the coronavirus outbreak.