Dana White denies Pacquiao vs Stevenson talks as offer goes to Gary Antuanne Russell

Pacquiao and Stevenson had been reported to be close to a deal for the Fury vs Joshua card in Cardiff, and Stevenson has since sent Russell a personal message.

Manny Pacquiao will not fight Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson's promoter, Dana White, said at the post-fight press conference for Zuffa Boxing 11 that the fight had never been on the table: "That's not true. I don't know where that came from."

Stevenson's next opponent could instead be Gary Antuanne Russell. Dan Rafael reported that Zuffa Boxing had contacted PBC with an offer for Russell, the WBA super-lightweight champion, to face Stevenson, who holds the WBO title, in a unification bout.

Stevenson then followed the offer with a personal message to Russell.

Russell won the WBA belt by beating José Valenzuela on a unanimous decision in March 2025, and has defended it once since, outpointing Andy Hiraoka. Stevenson won his title in January by beating Teofimo Lopez.

Pacquiao and Stevenson had been reported to be close to a deal to fight as the co-main event on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua card in Cardiff. The match-up drew a negative reaction from fans because of the age gap and Stevenson's standing as one of the best active fighters in the sport.

It would have been Pacquiao's first fight since his draw with Mario Barrios, then the WBC welterweight champion, and would have taken the place of his postponed rematch with Floyd Mayweather. Whether he fights again this year, as he had planned when the Mayweather rematch collapsed, remains to be seen.

It is not known whether a Stevenson-Russell fight would be targeted for the 11 December card in Cardiff. The Fury-Joshua fight itself is in doubt over White's role, and White said at the same press conference that he did not know whether it would go ahead: Dana White doesn't know if Fury vs Joshua will happen. Our timeline of the row has every turn.

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