LOS ANGELES (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — DeSoto resident Errol Spence Jr. and Manny Pacquiao formally announced Sunday that they will fight August 21 in a bout pitting an eight-division world champion against one of the sport’s most dominant current champions.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) and Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) will fight for Spence’s WBC and IBF welterweight titles when they meet at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 42-year-old Pacquiao is a senator in his native Philippines. He hasn’t fought since July 2019, when he beat Keith Thurman by split decision for his third consecutive victory.
At a news conference in Los Angeles, Pacquiao admitted he is taking a significant risk in returning against one of the top active fighters in boxing. Pacquiao said he could have picked “a much easier fight compared to Errol Spence” for his comeback bout, but chose to take on the unbeaten 147-pound champion “because I want to give a good fight to the fans. I want a real fight.”
#BREAKING Exclusive video from a nearby security camera shows the crash that injured Championship Boxer Errol Spence Jr when he lost control of his Ferrari and it rolled multiple times ejecting him. Fortunately he survived and expected to be ok pic.twitter.com/2Z1xh9DDiA
— J.D. Miles (@jdmiles11) October 10, 2019
The 31-year-old Spence will be in the ring for only the second time since October 2019, when he survived a horrific accident.
The crash happened just before 3 a.m. on South Riverfront Boulevard near downtown Dallas and involved only one vehicle — a white Ferrari 488 Spider. Video shows the car going over the center median, flipping several times, and ejecting Spence — who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The boxer was later convicted of driving while intoxicated, but received no jail time.
He returned last December in a fight at AT&T Stadium against Danny Garcia. He won by unanimous decision. Judges Steve Weisfeld and Barry Lindenman scored it 116-112, with Tim Cheatham giving Spence a decided 117-111 edge at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL team that has adopted the 2012 U.S. Olympian and rising star.
Pacquiao has been stopped just once since 1999, but Spence said he won’t enter the ring looking for a highlight-reel knockout. Spence is 3 1/2 inches taller than Pacquiao, and his frame was significantly larger during their ceremonial faceoff.
“I definitely have the ability to finish him,” Spence said. “But for me, it’s about winning the fight.”
The fight will be a pay-per-view event.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
