Arum still betting on Pacquiao

The fighting senator Manny Pacquiao, former stalwart of Top Rank promotions, appears to be a massive underdog against Errol Spence in their August 21 welterweight bout, but Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum insists he simply cannot be ruled out.

“There are certain guys in life you never count out and one of them is Manny Pacquiao,” Arum told fighthype.com from his home base in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao fought for Top Rank from 2005 until 2017, during which he won many of his greatest fights – stopping Erik Morales (twice), Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and outpointing Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley.

Now 42, Pacquiao is preparing to beat Spence, who is younger and fresher and naturally bigger.

But Pacquiao insists he is determined to prove everyone wrong again just like when he upset Keith Thurman two years ago.

Although most ringsiders feel that Spence’s youth will be a gamechanger, there are still those like Arum, who is not willing to bet on the undefeated American puncher.

One of them is Chris Algieri, who lost to both Pacquiao (by decision in 2014) and Spence (by knockout in 2016).

Algieri swears that while Spence is the superior fighter overall, Pacquiao’s speed and power are a potent combination.

Spence’s last fight was outpointing Danny Garcia last December.

In late-2019, Spence figured in a horrific car crash when his car turned turtle in Texas, throwing him out of the vehicle as he did not wear his seatbelt. He spent some time in a hospital before being released.