Manny Pacquiao’s advisor Sean Gibbons spoke to Betway and analysed the Filipino icon’s boxing comeback against Mario Barrios, which ended in a draw.
Sean Gibbons, Manny Pacquiao’s advisor, was very critical of the judges’ scorecards for Pacquiao’s recent fight against Mario Barrios.
Pacquiao’s comeback fight, in which he was the underdog in the boxing odds, ended in a draw, but Gibbons claimed the boxing legend and Hall of Famer “at 70 per cent is better than the current top 10 out there.”
In our exclusive interview, Gibbons also revealed Pacquiao’s intentions of making history by becoming a world champion at the age of 47.
What did you make of Manny Pacquiao’s performance against Mario Barrios and do you think he got robbed on the scorecards?
It’s been a hard pill to swallow, but Manny is a man of God and believes things happen for a reason. There’s a reason behind it, and we can’t change the result, so all we can do is take another shot at history and remain open to fighting in December.
Rolly Romero is one of the front-runners because Manny wants meaningful fights, he wants to do something that makes sense, not just fight for the sake of it. He wants to break his own record and make history. Now, he’ll have to do it at 47, and that’s where things stand.
Manny Pacquiao is a Hall of Famer, a legend, and when he sets out to do something, he’s the first one to make sure he won’t get himself hurt. Unless you know Manny Pacquiao, people making comments and attacking him [about making a comeback at 46] and criticising the WBC and Mauricio Sulaiman for ranking him at number five should be laughing at themselves. Manny Pacquiao at 70 per cent is better than the current top 10 out there.
Will Manny fight again?
Manny wants to return, keep his momentum, and his brand is as hot as it’s ever been. It’s a shame because [the draw against Mario Barrios] cost him sponsors, endorsements, and those three judges couldn’t see what millions of people could. After six rounds, I was pinching myself, saying, “Is this real? Is he going to do it?”
I thought it was either going to be amazing or a car wreck, and the Manny Pacquiao I was watching in the gym… this isn’t a vintage Pacquiao by any means, but like I said, 70 per cent is better than 110 per cent of these other guys. It shows his greatness in the sport. Like Michael Jordan, these guys can still perform in their 40s because they were so incredible in their 20s and 30s.
Have you spoken to Turki Alalshikh about any possible fights for Manny during Riyadh Season?
I was in Saudi Arabia at His Excellency’s house, and there were fighters there whom Manny Pacquiao had fought and beaten, including Oscar De La Hoya. Ricky Hatton was also there, as well as others. It was wild. Manny is shadowboxing and looking for fights, while the others were all retired and enjoying themselves which is great for them.
But there’s nothing like being around Manny Pacquiao. In the old days, it was Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Tommy Hearns, the last of the great entourages. When Manny retired after the Yordenis Ugas fight, I was depressed. I thought it was over. He should never have fought Ugas, he was ready for Errol Spence Jr. and would’ve beaten him, but Spence pulled out of the fight with 10 days to go.
When Manny retired, the fight was still in him. And of course, after the political issues that happened [in the Philippines], he still had a lot of fight left. We’re in touch with His Excellency all the time, and there was some talk in the past about Manny fighting Terence Crawford—but that was the wrong fight.
The Conor Benn fight was done before his suspension, and His Excellency loved that fight and wanted it to happen. We still hope for that at some point. But we also have an Excellency in Al Haymon [PBC promoter], and he has been tremendous for Manny. He’s done Manny’s last four fights, stood by him with the money, and promoted the fights. So we have to give all the credit to PBC’s Al Haymon.
