Top Rank CEO Bob Arum would not advise Manny Pacquiao to fight newly crowned World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Terence Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs).
This past Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Crawford battered and stopped Jeff Horn to capture the WBO title. The win made Crawford a three division world champion.
On July 14, Pacquiao will challenge WBA "regular" welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia.
Should Pacquiao win, he would like to pursue further glory with big fights.
For the last two years, the idea of a Pacquiao vs. Crawford bout was entertained by their mutual promoter, Arum.
But Pacquiao - now 39-years-old - struggled in his controversial twelve round decision loss to Horn in July 2017.
And while Pacquiao struggled against the Australian fighter, Crawford dominated Horn from start to finish in a very one-sided contest.
At this point in his career, Arum would like to see Pacquiao fight someone else - like lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko at a catch-weight.
“I don’t think Manny wants to fight Crawford and I think it will be a very bad fight for Manny. I don’t think Manny could compete against Crawford at this time in his career,” Arum told The Manila Times.
“Well if he wants to do it, I will make it happen but I would tell him not to. Manny is an athlete and he is an adult. He can decide on what he wants. If he comes to me and says I think I know how to beat him (Crawford) and I want to fight him, I will do the fight. But if he asks me for recommendations, I would strongly suggest against it.
“Crawford showed that he is the great fighter he was. He dominated Horn and knocked him out. Horn was very brave but Crawford is a very special fighter and exceptional.”
