Pacquiao in Britain? Hearn Says It's Possible

British promoter and head of Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn, has mentioned that a fight between British welterweight (up to 66,67 kg) boxer Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 38 KOs) could happen in London.

"Listen, we all want this fight, and obviously, Manny flew in for talks and to watch the show in Saudi Arabia, so we would like to organize it. We're waiting on Conor Benn's appeal decision. We were told it would take two weeks, and it's been almost four weeks now, so we're expecting to hear about this appeal any day.

Everything is out of our hands, it's in the hands of the governing bodies, and they will determine where Conor Benn's next fight will be. Honestly, we could do Benn vs. Pacquiao at a stadium in London.

I like this fight; people say it's not the Manny Pacquiao of the past – thank God for that. I think at this stage it's a 50-50 fight," said Hearn.

It was previously reported that Saudi Arabia was the most likely country for the showdown. Remember, Benn is currently unable to fight in Great Britain due to a failed doping test. The WBC has cleared him, and the National Anti-Doping Panel has lifted his suspension from boxing, but the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) has not lifted the ban on fights in Britain. The fighter has appealed.

Pacquiao has never boxed in Great Britain. Most of his career took place in the USA and the Philippines, with two fights in Macao, and one each in Australia and Malaysia.