Manny Pacquiao’s clash with Rolly Romero hangs in the balance due to a mandatory obligation.
WBA welterweight champion Romero is the rumoured frontrunner to face Pacquiao next.
Romero is the WBA welterweight championGettyBut on Monday, the major sanctioning body ordered Romero to defend his black and gold strap against No.1 contender Shakhram Giyasov of Uzbekistan.
Giyasov (17-0) previously stepped aside to allow Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Eimantas Stanionis to face each other in a WBA and IBF unification bout in April, with the promise that he would get a shot at the belt thereafter.
The WBA have now fulfilled that pledge at the cost of Pacquiao.
‘Pac Man’ returned to the ring in July to hold WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios to a draw following a four-year hiatus from the paid ranks.
The Hall of Famer plans to continue competing and recently confirmed that he will fight again on January 24 in Las Vegas, just after his 47th birthday.
If Romero opts to face Giyasov next, which he will likely be forced to do if he hopes to retain his world title, then Pacquiao will have to either face a different opponent in early 2026 or postpone his comeback to later in the year.
This comes after Pacquiao told Filipino media earlier this month that he was ‘finalising’ a fight with Romero.
They could, of course, proceed with the fight without the WBA strap being on the line.
However, it appears that Pacquiao’s primary motivation for facing Romero is the belt.
Victory would make the boxing legend the second-oldest boxing world champion of all time, behind the ageless wonder Bernard Hopkins.
GettyRomero has been ordered to defend his belt against Giyasov[/caption]Who else could Manny Pacquiao face next?
There were murmurs of a potential rematch with Barrios.
Both men verbally agreed to meet again in the immediate aftermath of their draw.
However, Pacquiao’s long-time advisor, Sean Gibbons, insisted that a fight with Romero was a far more appealing proposition.
“I don’t see why Barrios again. There’s Rolly Romero, ‘Tank’ Davis. Why do it again?” Gibbons told BoxingScene shortly after his client’s comeback.
“Mario Barrios doesn’t draw anything and brings nothing to the table but that belt.
“Rolly Romero would be an unbelievably fun fight and one hell of a promotion.”
Romero (17-2) shocked the boxing world in May by defeating Ryan Garcia at Times Square in New York City.
In victory, he was crowned the WBA ‘regular’ champion, which was subsequently upgraded to the full world title when Ennis vacated the belt in August.
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