Pacquiao’s manager drops Benn fight hint as date and location teased

Manny Pacquiao’s manager Sean Gibbons has dropped another hint that the boxing icon could be returning to the ring against Conor Been. Gibbons released a mock-up poster of the pair with a couple of key pieces of information on it.

The poster claims that Benn and Pacquiao will box each other this year in Abu Dhabi. According to the Matchroom Boxing calendar, their next event in the UAE will be on June 3, a date Hearn had hoped to stage Deontay Wilder vs Andy Ruiz Jr on after the Bronze Bomber became a free agent.

But with Wilder unlikely to sign with Hearn given their messy history, this could be the perfect date and location for Pacquiao vs Benn. In a recent interview with Gibbons, the boxing manager confirmed that there had been discussions about the fight.

“They’re not rumours, their discussions but it’s a long way to go,” he told Fight Hype on Saturday. “Would people love to see Manny in the ring? Yeah (against) Conor? Yeah, two big names. It’s kind of just been thrown out there, it’s like an idea that Eddie Hearn had and Manny said I’m up to hear about it.”

The 26-year-old compiled a 270-page document to clear his name but only released it to the WBC despite the BBBofC investigation carrying greater weight, given they can ban him from boxing. After reading through the dossier, the WBC came out and stated that there was “no conclusive evidence” Benn had intentionally or knowingly ingested the banned substance.

The major sanctioning body also claims that the adverse findings were down to the ‘highly elevated consumption of eggs’. A representative for the WBC wrote: “Mr Benn’s documented and highly elevated consumption of eggs during the times relevant to the sample collection, raised a reasonable explanation for the Adverse Finding.”

“The WBC shall include Mr Benn in its ratings during the period immediately following the issuance of its ruling,” the statement added. “Mr Benn’s position in the WBC Ratings shall be based solely on his merit and the customary factors the WBC Ratings Committee apply to rating boxers.”