Spence better than Mayweather, says Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao holds Errol Spence Jr. in such high regard that he thinks the young undefeated champion is even better than the last man to soundly defeat him in the ring.

Pacquiao and Spence got to size each other up Sunday (Monday, Manila time) in a press conference at the Fox Television Studios in Los Angeles to announce their August 21 showdown (August 22 in Manila).

PACQUIAO AND SPENCE STAREDOWN! ????#PacquiaoSpence | AUGUST 21 FOX PPV | @MannyPacquiao @ErrolSpenceJr pic.twitter.com/lVfLtDXaa7

— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) July 11, 2021

At one point Spence, who will defend the WBC and IBF welterweight titles against Pacquiao, was asked if he will seek tips from Floyd Mayweather Jr. — who outpointed the Filipino icon during their 2015 megafight.

Pacquiao then interjected.

“Errol doesn’t need to get advice from Mayweather, because I believe that Errol is better than Mayweather,” Pacquiao said, offering nothing but praises to the 31-year-old champion.

The fighting senator then found the opportunity to take a swipe at Mayweather’s defensive style of fighting.

“He will teach Mayweather how to fight toe-to-toe,” he added.

At 42 years old, Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is not done challenging himself and will be the underdog against Spence (27-0, 21 KOs), considered one of the pound-for-pound fighters on the planet today. For all his accomplishments, Pacquiao has a secure boxing legacy and does not need to take on Spence to enhance his stature.

But Pacquiao stressed that he craves a tough fight.

“There was a lot of opportunity to pick a much easier fight compared to Errol Spence. But I decided to pick Errol Spence because I want to give a good fight to the fans,” he continued. “I want a real fight. I’m a fighter and boxing is my passion.”

Spence, for his part, is wary of Pacquiao’s praises, saying he expects a dangerous fight against “the same Manny Pacquiao for all these years.”

“Manny Pacquiao is the kind of guy, he will lull you to sleep. He’ll give you a lot of compliments and gratitude and things like that and as soon as the bell rings he’ll be jumping all over you,” said Spence, adding that he will proceed with caution.

“I definitely have the ability to finish him, but for me it’s about winning the fight. It’s to stay focused and win the fight. When you go out there and rush it and try to go for the knockout, I feel like from my experience, even in the amateurs, you look sloppy and something goes wrong.”

Pacquiao will enter the ring as the challenger and not as another champion after the WBA recently decided it will not reinstate him as its welterweight champion. The WBA stripped Pacquiao of the title due to inactivity — the last time he fought was in July 2019 against Keith Thurman.

Pacquiao does not need the belt though, as his tussle with Spence at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will remain a high-profile one, championships or none.