Errol Spence vs. Sebastian Fundora and Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios double-header is possible for December.
It’s an interesting card in a trainwreck type of way, as Spence and Pacquiao are ring-worn and not ideal candidates to be challenging for world titles. The tickets would sell, and it could bring in some PPV buys for PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view.
Alan Dawson reports that Spence-Fundora and Pacquiao-Barrios could be happening on the same night in December. Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) would challenge WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs).
In the other fight, 45-year-old Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) would be dusting off the cobwebs of three years of inactivity to challenge WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs). Pacquiao lost his last fight in 2021 to Yordenis Ugas by a twelve-round unanimous decision.
Last June, Pacquiao looked horrible being dominated in a three-round exhibition former by K-1 light welterweight champion Rukiya Anpo in Tokyo, Japan. Pacquiao looked all of 45 and then some in that exhibition match, and was lucky it was only three rounds.
If the World Boxing Council sanctioned a fight between inactive Pacquiao and Barrios for the 147-lb title, there would be much criticism. Given Pacquiao’s age, three years of inactivity, and the fact that he would be getting an underserved title shot ahead of the contenders in the WBC’s rankings, it would be seen as unfair.
Barrios is viewed as the weakest link at 147 among the champions, so you can’t entirely rule out a win for Pacquiao. Still, the Filpino star doesn’t deserve a title shot after three years out of the ring. He should at least fight a top-five contender in the WBC’s rankings to show he rates a world title chance.
Spence, 34, hasn’t fought since being knocked out in the ninth round by Terence Crawford in July 2023. If he faces Fundora in December, he’d be coming off a 17-month layoff, and his chances of success against the 6’6″ Fundora would be slim. Fans would still want to see it, but it still wouldn’t be an ideal situation for Errol without taking a tune-up.
The more logical fight to make would be Pacquiao vs. Spence, given how washed both fighters look at this point in their careers. Neither guy should be fighting active world champions.
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