Last Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao showed the world he still belongs on boxing’s biggest stage. Despite not getting the win, the 46-year-old legend went toe-to-toe with Mario Barrios, trading shots in a thrilling contest that ended in a controversial majority draw at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. After the final bell, ‘Pacman’ insisted he had done enough to win and expressed interest in a rematch. Now, his longtime advisor Sean Gibbons has echoed those sentiments, while also hinting at a different direction for the Filipino icon’s next move.

Even before the Mario Barrios fight, Manny Pacquiao’s team had floated the idea of a potential showdown with WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis. While the controversial draw against Barrios may have appeared to derail those plans, Pacquiao’s advisor Sean Gibbons believes otherwise. In fact, he argues that Davis would be the ideal next opponent for boxing’s only eight-division world champion. And it doesn’t stop there—Gibbons is also eyeing another major name for Pacquiao to square off against in his next outing.

“Manny Pacquiao beat Mario Barrios,” Gibbons said per various media reports. “What’s the need to fight him again? If Manny wants to fight again, there are fighters like Rolly Romero, there are fighters like Gervonta Davis.” Notably, Rolando Romero defeated Ryan Garcia in May to acquire the WBA welterweight title and has since made a resurgence. Meanwhile, Davis is expected to square off against Lamont Roach Jr. in August for their much-anticipated rematch. This means the Romero fight could be more accessible for Pacquiao next. 

“Rolly Romero would be an unbelievably fun fight. Romero just beat Ryan Garcia. Rolly Romero and Manny Pacquiao would be a hell of a promotion,” Gibbons added. Regardless, the main reason Gibbons wants to walk away from the Barrios rematch seems to be the latter’s lack of pull among the fans. “Not a knock on Barrios. I like him. I like everybody around him, but he doesn’t move the needle. He’s just a nice person,” Gibbons said.

“Nobody wants to see a nice person. You need a Rolly Romero, you need a Gervonta Davis,” he continued. And in case Pacquiao ends up fighting Gervonta Davis next, Gibbons celebrated that Pacquiao wouldn’t be the smaller man for a change. “Maybe it’s Gervonta Davis that could happen, and for once in his life, Manny is actually going to be bigger than his opponent, size-wise. So those are the real names out there, Rolly Romero and Gervonta,” he concluded.  In the meantime, Mario Barrios has made a confession. 

Mario Barrios admits Manny Pacquiao can still crack

Despite holding all the advantages over Manny Pacquiao, Barrios admitted he had to stay sharp against the Filipino boxing legend, acknowledging the 46-year-old hasn’t lost his trademark power despite his age. After the fight, Barrios explained why he had to take a more cautious approach throughout the 12-round fight. 

“It wasn’t necessarily about respect,” Barrios said. “It was just, you know, he still has a lotta crack. For his age, he was very explosive, tricky, and I just wasn’t trying to make a mistake by overcommitting on a shot that I wasn’t sure of.” The 30-year-old could have been more aggressive during the fight, but claims he didn’t want to take that risk. 

“I prepared for the best Pacquiao,” he added. “He’s still tricky in there, still has so much experience and showed that tonight.”

Mario Barrios found out the hard way that Manny Pacquiao isn’t treating his comeback like a farewell tour. But whether a high-stakes clash with Gervonta Davis or a showdown with Rolando Romero actually materializes remains to be seen. So, what do you think — who should ‘Pacman’ face next?