By Chris Williams: Filipino star Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) was supposed to make a decision on Friday about who his next fight would be for his final fight next April, but the date came and went without Pacquiao letting his promoter Bob Arum know who the fighter will be.
Of course, there has been fact-less rumors that the opponent will be Tim Bradley, but that’s not been confirmed by Pacquiao and it appears it was just idle speculation from one site. With Pacquiao not naming the guy he’ll be fighting in April, it suggests that he’s probably waiting on Floyd Mayweather Jr. to give him a call for a rematch.
It’s got to be that. There’s no other reason for Pacquiao to not name his opponent as fast as possible because the three options – Tim Bradley, Amir Khan and Terence Crawford – are incredibly poor options that won’t make Pacquiao the kind of money that he brought in for his last fight and won’t bring him anywhere near the same amount of attention.
Dan Rafael of ESPN said he spoke with the 83-year-old Arum on Friday and he said he still hasn’t heard anything from Pacquiao. Arum reportedly wants Pacquiao to name the opponent as fast as possible because it’s going to take months and months for Arum and Top Rank to try and drum up interest in a fight between Pacquiao and the likes of Crawford, Bradley or Khan.
Let’s face it; those are not the type of fights that will create a ton of interest from the boxing public. That’s why it’s extremely important for Pacquiao to select one of them as quick as possible so that Arum and Top Rank start marketing the fights. Personally, I don’t blame Pacquiao for not announcing his next opponent because it tells me that he’s not sold on fighting any of the names that Aruim personally named.
Just checked in with Arum. No word yet from Manny on April 9 opponent. #threatlevelgreen
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) December 5, 2015
If it were me, I’d throw the names back at Arum and tell him to match his own Top Rank stable fighters against that sorry lot and instead tell him that he wants a better name than that gang of three. Pacquiao deserves a MUCH better name than Crawford, Khan or Bradley for his next/final fight.
If Arum wants someone to fight that gang of three, then he needs to trot out Brandon Rios or Jessie Vargas to be the designated opponent. I wouldn’t waste time with any of them because the money just isn’t there with those guys. Pacquiao needs to fight Mayweather or Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for his final fight. Canelo doesn’t have an opponent for his next fight in May, and that would be the perfect fight for Pacquiao if Mayweather doesn’t show Pacquiao any interest.
If Pacquiao, I’d be looking to have Arum make that fight if he’s willing to try and make the fight. If not, then I’d sit it out until he can get a fight against Canelo or Mayweather. There’s no point in Pacquiao using up his final fight facing a guy he’s already fought twice before like Bradley or fighting guys that won’t bring any money like Khan or Crawford.
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