MANILA, Philippines — No major US cable channel covering the fight. Not much buzz being generated among fans. And an opponent nobody has heard of.

Not exactly the type of conditions Manny Pacquiao has grown accustomed to when his name is attached to a world title bout, but he’ll take what he’s given him.

At this point in Pacquiao's career, one analyst says, it’s about finding out if there's still a future for him in prizefighting.

“Freddie Roach even said that they want to use this fight to gauge whether Manny still has it in him,” boxing analyst and lawyer Ed Tolentino said in an interview on Karen Davila’s Pasada Sais Trenta on DZMM on Friday.

At 37 years old with more than 60 fights under his belt, Pacquiao isn’t the same relentless force of nature who left battered bodies in his wake and wowed the world with his fast hands and quick, brutal endings.

“At his age and the number of fights he’s gone through,” Tolentino said, “that’s a lot of mileage already.”

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Pacquiao doesn’t have anything more to prove given everything he’s accomplished in the ring, but Tolentino believes Pacquiao wants to get something out of the Jessie Vargas fight than just a W.

Tolentino said: “Look, Manny admits this is a fight that’s tough to sell. First, Vargas isn’t a known commodity. Second, this isn’t something that fans want. They want Floyd Mayweather, Terrence Crawford. And this fight, even beforehand, not many are really warm to this fight. In fact, interest has been lukewarm.

“Manny needs this fight to know whether he still has the skill to bang with the heavier boxers. This fight is something he needs actually.”

If Pacquiao wins, Tolentino said it could set the world champion up for a bigger payday.

“It’s like a business approach wherein, you may operate at a loss now, but if Manny can show he can knock out his opponent, let’s say he fights Floyd Mayweather and other big names, the return on investment would be huge.

“If he comes away with an impressive win against Vargas, the payoff will be much greater.”

And Vargas seems to fit perfectly into Pacquiao’s plan, Tolentino said.

“Pacquiao’s team thinks Vargas is still raw. But Vargas insists he’ll peak just in time for the fight. He says that physically he has all the assets, but he lacks the experience. And he’s only notched 10 knockouts (in 27 wins), so a lot of people think he can’t hurt Manny, that his punch will be a mere pinch on Pacquiao’s cheek.”

Pacquiao is challenging Vargas for the World Boxing Organization welterweight title. He has been tagged as the overwhelming favorite to win.

In the Philippines, the fight will be seen live, commercial-free and in high definition on November 6, 9 a.m. on SKY Sports Pay-Per-View.

In the Middle East, the fight will be shown on November 6 at 4 a.m. in KSA and 5 a.m. in Dubai, live (with replays) via TFC.tv. It is also available via OSN, ELife and Mozaic TV powered by Ooredoo.

In the US, it will be shown on November 5 live, distributed by Top Rank PPV.

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