by Nick Giongco
The skies are going to clear up for Manny Pacquiao in the coming days.
Unable to focus on his boxing duties owing to the election fever, Pacquiao should be able to provide details about his next fight with the conclusion of Monday’s national elections.
Despite reports from the US saying that Pacquiao is slated to face Keith Thurman on July 20 in Las Vegas, the Filipino fighter’s camp and Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) have yet to make a confirmation.
American matchmaker Sean Gibbons, also Pacquiao’s right-hand man, is in General Santos City standing by once Pacquiao finally shifts his concentration to his ring obligations since he is neck-deep in commitments to family members and close friends running for public office.
Gibbons admits that the dates July 13 or July 20 remain in play for Pacquiao’s first fight since beating Adrien Broner last January.
Pacquiao, 40, prefers those dates since either one of them would enable him to train almost unmolested given that the Senate will only resume in late-July.
If Pacquiao and PBC are on the same page and set the date on July 20, the eight-division world champion should kick off training camp towards the end of the month, giving him a little over six weeks to train.