By Dave Lahr: I’m not even thinking that the bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao can be salvaged at this point. It looks as if neither of the two fighters are going to give in about the drug testing methods, and the lawsuit by Pacquiao that was announced yesterday, probably spells doom for the potential mega fight. That’s good news for World Boxing Association light middleweight champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, 8 KO’s), who has been mentioned as a possible next opponent for Pacquiao by Manny’s promoter Bob Arum.

This would be Pacquiao’s chance to win an 8th world title in as many divisions. However, it might be a huge mistake for Pacquiao to go after the 5’11” Foreman. I think Pacquiao, 5’6 ½” is just too little to beat a rugged tough fighter like Foreman, and I think Pacquiao is going to take a beating and end up losing if he decides to fight him. Foreman, with his four and half inch height and five inch reach advantage, would be the equivalent of a Klitschko facing one of their typically smaller opponents.

Pacquiao might end being humiliated by the much bigger Foreman. I think it would be a great fight if you can picture a David vs. Goliath type match up, but in this case I don’t see Pacquiao, the smaller fighter, emulating what David did. Foreman is more like a middleweight than a light middleweight, and he might end up throwing Pacquiao around the ring with his big size.

Foreman may not have a lot power in his shots, but he hits plenty hard enough to cause Pacquiao problems if he hits him enough times. What makes Foreman even tougher for Pacquiao is that he’s not a stationary type fighter like many of Pacquiao’s recent opponents. Foreman is like a bigger version of Juan Manuel Marquez, and we saw already how many problems that Marquez gave Pacquiao in their two fights.

Foreman is an excellent counter puncher, with very fast hands and huge assortment of punches. I never realized how versatile Foreman was until seeing his recent 12 round decision win over Daniel Santos in November. Foreman was nailing Santos with hooks, overhand rights and uppercuts, hammering him from every angle. At the same time, Foreman easily moved away from Santos when he was attacked.

I don’t think Pacquiao is capable of winning an 8th world title if it means that he has to beat one of the bigger light middleweight like Foreman. I think Pacquiao will be in over his head with the bigger Foreman, and will end up getting schooled badly and ultimately defeated. Anyway, there’s no shame if Pacquiao ends up losing to a talented fighter like Foreman.

If he can at least make it close, that would be a major accomplishment given how much bigger Foreman is than him. Foreman will literally be towering over Pacquiao in their fight and will have the much bigger frame and the longer arms.

Pacquiao was able to beat World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Miguel Cotto by a 12th round knockout in November, but Cotto is a small welterweight at only 5’7” with short arms. Foreman is tall, with much longer arms and a fighter that likes to fight in short explosive bursts and then get away. I see this fight going badly for Pacquiao, I hate to say it.