Eddie Hearn offers unexpected update on Manny Pacquiao vs Conor Benn location
The Joshua-Ngannou fight week provided more than just hype for the AJ bout, it birthed new fight rumours that got the world of boxing talking, none more so than a potential showdown between Conor Benn and the legendary, Manny Pacquiao. Now, Matchroom Promoter, Eddie Hearn, has offered an update on the touted clash.
Pacquiao retired from the sport in 2021, following an underwhelming performance against Yordenis Ugas, but after being denied entry into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it seems that the itchy knuckles of the Filipino are leading him to a return to the professional scene.
Pac-Man and Benn faced off in Riyadh ahead of their rumoured scrap, with fans assuming that any potential contest would take place in the newfound home of boxing in Saud Arabia. Although, in an interview with iFL TV, Hearn revealed alternative plans.
“We all want to make that fight. Obviously, Manny flew in for talks and to watch the show in Saudi, that is what we would like to do. We are waiting for the Conor Benn announcement from the appeal, I think we were told [it would be] within two weeks, is it now four weeks, so any day now we will be getting the result of that appeal. It’s not in our hands, it is in the hands of the panel and that will determine where Conor’s next fight will be. Quite frankly, we could do Pacquiao versus Conor Benn in a stadium in London.
“It is a fight that I like, people are saying that he is not the Manny Pacquiao of old, thank God for that! He is an eight-division world champion and I think that it is a 50/50 fight at this stage, to be honest. Manny Pacquiao would easily beat everybody that Conor has ever beaten, so yeah, I like the fight.”
Hearn will be keen to secure the deal in the coming weeks, with plenty of other suitors sniffing around a fight with the pound-for-pound legend.