Hall of Fame coach Freddie Roach said Manny Pacquiao would not fight inside the ring this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senator Pacquiao’s last bout was against Keith Thurman in July 2019, where he claimed victory by split decision to claim the WBA world welterweight title.
Roach reiterated that the People’s Champ would fight two more boxers before finally retiring. However, those two fights would not happen in 2020, he said.
“He won’t fight this year, but if this ever goes away and I’m not sure it will because it’s getting worse and worse, not better and better—but I think Manny will fight once or twice more before he becomes the president of his country. And then he will retire,” Roach told boxingscene.com.
“He will fight again, I feel, and from when I’ve talked to him, he wants to fight once or twice more.”
Roach said the fights could take place in the Middle East.
“But the thing is, it could be anywhere from the US to Saudi Arabia, anywhere,” he said.
“They were talking about Mikey Garcia, and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the perfect fight for Manny.’ But I don’t think we’ll really know until this [pandemic] is over.”
Freddie Roach: No fight for Manny Pacquiao this year
Pacquiao previously said he has no plans to go back inside the ring until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
“He told me that [the pandemic is] worse there than it is here,” he said.
“He can’t leave the house because he’s a senator, and his kids are all in the house. It’s just a bad time for maybe everybody at this point.”
In January, Connor McGregor challenged Manny Pacquiao in the boxing ring after suffering a loss with Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2017.
“I would be open to other boxing bouts. You know, Manny… We’re actually close to signing Manny,” McGregor said in an interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight champion, even an offer, was made for highly anticipated Connor McGregor versus Manny Pacquiao fight.
The Irish mixed martial artist fought Mayweather but lost via technical knockout in the 10th round of what is called “The Money Fight” in 2017.