Terence Crawford wants to fight Manny Pacquiao next but admits ‘I wouldn’t say’ it will happen
- His coach wanted him to stay away from me, unbeaten American tells Joe Rogan
- Crawford praises Pacquiao’s performance against Keith Thurman, but sees holes in the Filipino’s game
Terence Crawford doesn’t think he will get a crack at fighting Manny Pacquiao despite showing interest in the bout.
The 40-year-old Pacquiao became the oldest WBA welterweight champion by turning back the clock to beat Keith Thurman in a split decision in Las Vegas last month.
But the unbeaten Crawford (35-0, 26 KOs) thinks Pacquiao is more concerned with “chasing the [Floyd] Mayweather fight” than facing him.
“I wouldn’t say so,” Crawford said on Joe Rogan’s YouTube podcast when asked if the fight is possible. “Because I was being mentioned to fight Pacquiao since 2014 and we were in the same promotional company, they couldn’t make it happen.
“I don’t think he was interested because his coach [Freddie Roach] mentioned numerous times he didn’t want him to fight me, and he wanted him to stay away from me.”
Crawford said he was disappointed Pacquiao did not beat Jeff Horn in July 2017, because he would have been in line to face the Filipino. Crawford outclassed the Australian in their June 2018 WBO welterweight title fight, scoring a ninth-round TKO.