Former Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao speaks during a news conference on October 11, 2022. IMAGO / Newscom / Yonhap News

Manny Pacquiao Tells Terence Crawford What To Focus On For Canelo Alvarez Fight

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated May 23, 2025 4:58 PM ET

At one point a few years ago, it seemed like the legendary Manny Pacquiao could eventually be facing champion boxer Terence Crawford, as the two were in and around the weight divisions. However, these two ultimately never met in the ring, which may have been a good thing considering that Pacquiao looked like a shell of his former self during his final few professional fights.

Since then, Crawford has gone on to defeat the other top boxers around his weight, stacking up title belts and increasing his undefeated record to the point where he has skyrocketed up pound-for-pound rankings.

Now, Crawford is slated to fight Canelo Alvarez in mid-September, in what's going to be the biggest payday of his life by far. And Pacquiao is also returning to the boxing ring this summer, facing reigning WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios on July 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

IT'S OFFICIAL ‼️@MannyPacquiao returns to the ring for the first time in nearly four years on July 19th when he challenges Mario Barrios for his WBC World Welterweight Title

Who wins and how? #PacquiaoBarrios | #MannyPacquiao | #BoxingNews pic.twitter.com/gzocbfvK8Y
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) May 21, 2025

There's no doubt that the 46-year-old Pacquiao's focus is completely on his upcoming bout against an adversary 16 years younger than him. However, that didn't keep Pacquiao from speaking about the Canelo vs Crawford contest during a May 23 interview with FightHub TV.

At one point in the discussion, Pacquiao was asked what advice he would give Crawford for fighting Canelo, given that Canelo is a bigger guy.

"My advice is that he would make sure to focus on speed," Pacquiao responded. "That's the problem when you're moving up [in weight], that your speed and power [go]. So he needs to focus [on that]."

This is an interesting juxtaposition from what Pacquiao likely needs to focus on in his own fight, as the general sentiment from the boxing community is that the "Pac-Man" will need to depend on his own power if he has any change of beating Barrios, given that Barrios will almost surely be the faster and more athletic guy in there.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: