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Terence Crawford Recalls Failed Manny Pacquiao Fight: ‘Nowhere To Be Found'

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Apratim Banerjee | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 8:34 PM ET

Terence Crawford is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. A four weight world champion, including being undisputed in two weight divisions, Crawford has been fighting the cream of the crop for a while.

He boasts a 41-0-0 record with 31 knockout wins. He is a combination of skill and flair, who also has tremendous instincts inside the ring.

Crawford has now recalled the time when his proposed fight against Manny Pacquiao failed to come to fruition. In a chat with presenter Grant Brown, 'Bud' claimed he was promised a Pacquiao showdown had he beaten Dierry Jean.

Crawford stopped Jean in their 2015 showdown via 10th round TKO. Jean is a former sparring partner of 'Pacman' and helped the Filipino prepare for his Floyd Mayweather fight in 2015. Crawford, however, thinks his impressive performance against Jean worked against a possible Pacquiao fight, who was 'nowhere to be found'.

Crawford said:

I fought Dierry Jean and that was possibly my coming out party to potentially fight Manny Pacquiao. So that was the fight where they said if you look good, you get a shot at Manny Pacquiao at 140. I stopped him. Manny Pacquiao was nowhere to be seen.

He added:

Freddie Roach knew how good I was because not only did I fight a couple of fighters he trained, Dierry Jean was one of Manny Pacquiao's sparring partners as well.

Terence Crawford vs Manny Pacquiao could have been a superfight. Crawford, though, now has his biggest showdown to date coming up next. He faces Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight title on September 13.

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

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