Manny Pacquiao’s adviser, Sean Gibbons, says he doesn’t see the point in a rematch with WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios after their clash ended in a 12-round majority draw last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Gibbons Wants Bigger PPV Fight
Gibbons saw the early estimates of the PPV numbers for the Pacquiao-Barrios fight on PBC on Prime Video Pay-Per-Views, and wants a bigger name for Manny to fight that will bring in the buys for his next fight. Barrios isn’t a big enough draw.
What Gibbons may not recognize is that there’s little interest in his fighter, Pacquiao, among the younger fans who follow the sport now. There aren’t enough older boxing fans to bring in the kind of PPV buys that he’s hoping to bring in. This isn’t 2012. Younger fans just see Pacquiao as an old 50-ish fighter, coming back like other retired fighters, lured by the smell of money.
Gibbons is targeting Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis or Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero for Pacquiao to fight next. However, Rolly isn’t a PPV draw either. The biggest PPV event Rolly was involved in was his fight against Tank Davis on May 28, 2022, which generated 275,000 PPV buys. That was because of Tank, not Rolly. Davis could have fought anyone and brought in similar numbers. Romero was just the opponent for Tank.
Gervonta won’t agree to fight Pacquiao unless he’s offered more than what he can get fighting Jake Paul or Shakur Stevenson. It’s doubtful that PBC would be willing to offer Tank the kind of money he can get fighting those guys.
Rolly Romero: Fun Pacquiao Fight?
“I don’t see why Barrios again. There’s Rolly Romero, ‘Tank’ Davis. Why do it again? 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,” said Sean Gibbons to Boxingscene about who could be next for Manny Pacquiao.
Barrios might be as good as it gets for Pacquiao. If he faces Rolly, it won’t be significantly better PPV buys than going up against Barrios again. Moreover, Rolly would have a better chance of beating Pacquiao and knocking him out than the timid, gun-shy Barrios.
Last Updated on 07/20/2025
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