Manny Pacquiao will make his return to the United States this January to defend his secondary welterweight world title against Adrien Broner. The fight has been rumored since last month but today it was formally announced at a news conference in New York, that Pacquiao vs Broner will take place on January 19 and headline a Showtime PPV card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, Pacquiao, who turned 40 on December 17, has not boxed in the U.S. since 2016 because of an eight-figure debt to the IRS. Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) has gone 3-1 since losing to Mayweather in 2015, with his only loss being a controversial defeat to Jeff Horn.
After a year away from the sport he returned in July and knocked out Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round, marking his first KO since his 2009 victory over Miguel Cotto to win his first welterweight title, according to ESPN. Pacquiao's last fight in the U.S. was in November of 2016, when he won a welterweight world title from Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas via decision.
Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs), 29, is 0-1-1 in his past two fights, including a decision loss to Mikey Garcia in July 2017 and a draw with Vargas in April. According to CBS Sports' Brian Campbell, the 29-year old fighter vowed to beat Pacquiao's ass come January.
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Speaking of Pacquiao vs Mayweather II -- TMZ Sports recently caught up with Stephen Espinoza, the President of Programming for Showtime Sports, who revealed that Mayweather is "deadly serious" about another fight. "Having spoken to Floyd, I know he's deadly serious about it. He's very, very serious about wanting the fight," says Espinoza.
