Pacquiao Accused of Ducking Two-Weight World Champion
Manny Pacquiao is on the comeback trail once more.
He has been accused of dodging a former two-weight world champion.
Pacquiao is 47 years of age.
He has not fought since July 2025.
That night, he secured a draw with WBC ruler Mario Barrios.
Before that, he had been out of the ring since August 2021.
That was when he lost a WBA welterweight contest with Yordenis Ugás.
He is a veteran of 73 fights.
He has eight losses on his record.
He is a former eight-weight world champion.
He is finding it hard to leave the sport behind.
He had been linked with a fight with Shakur Stevenson.
He had been linked with a fight with Paddy Donovan.
He had been linked with a fight with Joe Cordina on the undercard of Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury in December.
That has now been confirmed as not happening.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Paulie Malignaggi said he would be up for the fight with ‘Pacman’.
He said that the Filipino has so far swerved the possibility.
“Pacquiao comes back and he’s looking to fight anybody but me right now,” Malignaggi said.
“This guy’s 100 years old.
“He’s looking to fight anybody but me.
“Now he’s fighting a guy 20 pounds smaller than him just so he can fight.
“I put my name out there.
“I’ve been active.
“He doesn’t even mention my name.
“He knows what I said about him, and he knows I’m right.
“They don’t want that spewed out in that promotion, so they don’t bring it up.”
Malignaggi is a former two-division world champion.
He won titles at super-lightweight and welterweight.
He is known for his sharp tongue and boxing analysis.
He has been calling out Pacquiao for years.
The accusation comes as Pacquiao searches for his next opponent throughout 2026.
Pacquiao had been touted for the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard in Cardiff next month.
Retired rivals such as Amir Khan and Danny Garcia were amongst the suggested names as his potential opponent.
As fight night drew closer, active fighters instead began to be rumoured.
Two-time IBF super-featherweight world champion Joe Cordina was deemed as the front runner.
One man willing to face Pacquiao next is Malignaggi.
However, he told The Ariel Helwani Show that the 47-year-old has been avoiding him at all costs.
“I will tell you this, this guy Pacquiao comes back and he is looking to fight anybody but me right now,” Malignaggi said.
“This guy is 100 years old and he is looking to fight anybody but me.
“Now, he is fighting a guy 20lbs smaller than him just so that he can fight.
“I have put my name out there, I have been active, he doesn’t even mention my name because he knows what I said about him and he knows that I am right.
“They don’t want that spewed out in that promotion, so they don’t bring it up.”
In a disappointing turn of events, it seems as though Pacquiao will no longer appear on the Fury-Joshua undercard.
Malignaggi is set to take part in a bare-knuckle clash with former WBC welterweight world champion Victor Ortiz on Saturday, December 5.
Meanwhile, Conor Benn revealed that he could fight Pacquiao early in 2027.
Benn told Sky Sports that he had been offered a December bout with Pacquiao.
But after the rigours of making welterweight and suffering a stoppage loss to Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas in September, he wasn’t able to box Pacquiao next month.
He hopes though to restart talks to have the fight with Pacquiao in the first quarter of 2027.
“He’s an all-time legend,” Benn told Sky Sports.
“He’s an eight-division world champion, he’s an all-time, he’ll go down in the history books.
“Another stadium show sounds nice.
“I know the Pacquiao fight was offered to me for December.
“And I wasn’t ready to get the fight done in December.
“But if he wants it Q1 next year, we can do Pacquiao,” he revealed.
“The fight got presented to me for December and it was just too soon, making weight, got a newborn son, so for me it was really about spending time with my family.”
But he added: “If Q1, he wants to get it on again, I’m interested.
“Always in the gym, always working, if he wants it Q1 next year, we can do it, no problem.”
Garcia, the WBC welterweight champion, stopped Benn inside two rounds in the Briton’s first world title challenge.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” Benn acknowledged.
“To give 100 per cent in everything I do, I always want to be victorious.
“No one likes losing.
“You always want to come first place.
“So for me it’s just one of those things, you go swimming, you get wet.
“And I always said I want to be in exciting fights and if I get caught, I get caught.”
Garcia dropped him heavily though Benn was back on his feet when the stoppage came.
He did not however criticise the referee for ending the fight.
“It’s hard to say.
“I mean, listen I respect the referee and it’s the referee’s job to keep the fighter safe,” he said.
“Obviously me knowing my style and who I am, would I have liked to let the fight carry on, of course, but I’m not going to argue with the referee, he was there to do his job and he did his job.
“If he didn’t think I was fit to continue that was his call on the night.”
It is now most likely that Pacquiao, if he does return, will do so in 2027 despite turning 48 in mid-December.
The accusation from Malignaggi adds a layer of drama to Pacquiao’s search for an opponent.
Pacquiao has not responded publicly to the claim.
The boxing world is watching to see who Pacquiao will face next.
The options range from Benn to Malignaggi to other names.
For now, the accusation stands: Pacquiao is accused of ducking a two-weight world champion.
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