Coach rejects Floyd Mayweather as opponent for Manny Pacquiao, makes surprising choice

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Manny Pacquiao’s coach Justin Fortune rejected the idea of a bout between Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao, but suggested an astonishing alternative.

Speaking to Lucky Block Casino, Fortune said:

‘I don’t want to see Pacquiao-Mayweather 2, that would have been a great fight around a year or two after the first fight, when it was fresh in people’s memory, I’d rather see Pacquiao return against Crawford, that’s a massive payday and guess what, it’s a 50-50 fight.

‘Manny has a 50 percent chance of winning because he’s still a freak athlete and it wouldn’t take much to pull him into shape. Even though he’s slowed down a bit, he’s still twice as fast as anyone out there. The power he has is a gift from god, he hasn’t lost his power.

‘Manny has never ducked anyone, he’s always fought the best, and not saying Mayweather’s not the best but he’s old, I’d prefer Manny to come back and prove himself against a current world champion like Crawford.’

One question fans would naturally have is what Pacquiao would be fit for an in-form Terence Crawford. Fortune said something about that during the discussion.

‘Pulling him back into shape wouldn’t be a problem, we’d have to work on his explosivity and speed to bring it back to where it was. Getting him back into shape would not be hard because he’s always in shape, he used to come in camp at 50 percent anyway.

‘He was a gym rat. I could pull him back into shape for Crawford in eight weeks. Of course we’ll need to know when to push him or pull back because of his age. We’d need to back off to avoid burning him out.

‘If Manny comes back he’ll make the decision on the whim, he might wake up and say “I want to fight in eight weeks”’

However, one thing is certain: fans would still like to see Mayweather and Pacquiao in the ring.