'We are not fighting Pacquiao,' says Lomachenko's manager | ABS-CBN

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'We are not fighting Pacquiao,' says Lomachenko's manager

'We are not fighting Pacquiao,' says Lomachenko's manager

ABS-CBN News

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Updated Jan 18, 2018 09:09 PM PHT

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MANILA, Philippines – The manager of world champion Vasyl Lomancheko made it clear that the Ukrainian star is not going to fight Manny Pacquiao, despite the assertion of the Filipino boxer that negotiations are underway between the two camps.

Pacquiao told Karen Davila on ANC's "Headstart" Wednesday that he has no intentions of retiring, and that his camp is already in talks with Lomachenko's team for a potential bout.

This was summarily shot down by Egis Klimas, Lomachenko's manager, who told Dan Rafael of ESPN that "we are not fighting Pacquiao."

"Manny Pacquiao is calling out Lomachenko, who is three weight classes down the scale from him. Manny Pacquiao is 147 pounds and he's calling out Lomachenko, who is 130 pounds. That's insane," Klimas said.

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Klimas feels that there is no point to a Lomachenko-Pacquiao fight, given that the "Pacman" is already at the tail-end of his boxing career and has lost two of his last five fights. That includes a controversial decision defeat to Australia's Jeff Horn in July 2017.

"He's an old man and Lomachenko beating him takes him nowhere," Klimas said of the 39-year-old Pacquiao. "If the fight happened, they'll all say Lomachenko beat an old man and made him come down (in weight)."

Instead of Pacquiao, Lomachenko is eyeing bouts against other world champions as he tries to underscore his status as the pound-for-pound king.

"Look, we have our own agenda, our own road and our own plans. That's where we're going," said Klimas. "There's a lot of champions and good guys at 130 or 135 pounds. That's where we're going."

"Even if he beat Pacquiao, they'd say he beat an old guy who was basically retired. We want to fight active champions dominating their weight classes," the manager stressed.

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Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, was not as definitive as Klimas, although he acknowledged that a Pacquiao-Lomachenko bout won't happen this spring.

"Certainly, that's a fight that might be attractive down the road," said Arum.

Arum is still planning for Pacquiao to fight in April in the undercard of the Jeff Horn-Terence Crawford fight, though he has yet to identify an opponent for the "Pacman."

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.

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