Tyron Woodley’s two professional boxing fights have resulted in a pair of losses to Jake Paul, but the former MMA star is now setting his sights on Manny Pacquiao.
“I don’t wanna have to start ruffling Manny Pacquiao’s feathers, but if that’s what I gotta do to get this done because I can’t just linger around waiting,” Woodley told TMZ Sports. “If I take another fight, that can f–k this fight up.”
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Woodley said he’s been negotiating with Pacquiao’s camp for months, but the two sides have not been able to reach an agreement. The deal would apparently pay Woodley and Pacquiao millions of dollars to go head-to-head, despite Woodley’s two appearances in a boxing ring being underwhelming.
Woodley lost to Paul via split decision in August 2021 and then was knocked out by the Problem Child four months later. Dating back to the four straight losses that ended his MMA career, Woodley is now 0-6 in his last six fights.
In the same TMZ interview, Woodley revealed he was supposed to originally fight longtime Pacquiao rival Floyd Mayweather last year. Mayweather instead pivoted to an exhibition against John Gotti III.
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“I was supposed to be the original fight, and the plug kind of got pulled,” Woodley said.
Pacquiao retired from boxing after losing to Yordenis Ugás in August 2021. He performed in an exhibition against DK Yoo in December 2022 and has expressed an interest in a more serious potential return.
The 45-year-old held political office as a senator in his native Philippines from 2016 and 2022 and cited those commitments at the time of his retirement. With his schedule clearer two years later, it’s possible Pacquiao could return to the ring for a paycheck against a likely overmatched Woodley.
