Paquiao-Broner on media tour for upcoming January bout

Philippine’s senator, and multiple world champion, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KO’s) will meet former world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-3-1, 24 KO’s) on January 19th in Las Vegas, Nevada in what should be a great bout to kick off 2019.

This week, both fighters, along with their camps, will kick off a press tour that will see them on Monday in New York City, at Gotham Hall, and on Tuesday they will be in Beverly Hills, California at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Pacquiao will enter the fight off an exciting win last July over rugged Lucas Matthyse in a fight that saw him capture the WBA welterweight title.

 Broner comes into the bout off of a loss to Mikey Garcia in July of last year (for the WBC “Diamond” super lightweight title) and a draw with Jesse Vargas in April of this year.

Both Pacquiao and Broner, two of the biggest names in boxing, know that a win in their January bout will lead to much bigger things down the line so look for both fighters to come into the fight looking to impress.

Pacquiao, who will be 40 come fight time, knows a loss at his age is a considerable setback. “Pacman” might still want some more big bouts before he finally calls it a day on his Hall of Fame career so he knows wins, and impressive ones, are vital at this stage.

Broner, has impressed at times in his career but has also failed to live up to expectations at other times in his professional run. A win for Broner, over a legend like Pacquiao, puts him right back into the mix for some mega-fights.

In short, we have 2 very motivated fighters here. 

Maxboxing caught up with Pacman Promotions matchmaker Sean Gibbons to get his thoughts on the upcoming bout.

“This should be a great fight, and the interest in this fight will be huge”, said Gibbons. “Manny goes into every fight ready to win, in great shape and looking to put on a great show”, he said. “I mean has the guy ever been in a bad fight? People are very pumped about Manny right now coming off the impressive win over Matthyse, and they should be, he looked great”, continued Gibbons. “However, we can’t ever overlook a talent like Broner because when he is on he can put in a great performance. He knows what a win in this fight does for him so he will be very motivated for this fight”, said Gibbons. “Manny respects all fighters and he knows how tough a bout this will be. This is going to be a great fight by two very motivated fighters”, he said. 

* Finally, on a sad note, boxing says goodbye to Jerry Strickland with the news of his passing at the (too young) age of 64. Jerry was a mid-west, 4 and 6 round, pre-lim opponent during his 26-year career. While only picking up 13 wins in 135 fights, he was a valuable opponent for young fighters looking to gain some rounds with a very experienced professional. Jerry was the older brother of legendary mid-west opponent Reggie Strickland who stepped through the ropes a recorded 359 times. RIP Jerry.