By Eric Thomas: Promoter Bob Arum is already looking at Manny Pacquiao’s next fight beyond his upcoming bout against Shane Mosley on May 7th. Arum is looking to get Pacquiao back in the ring in November and is targeting Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the number #1 fighter on his list to match Pacquiao up against.
If Mayweather is unavailable, Arum may look to put Pacquiao in with Juan Manuel Marquez again.
Speaking to philstar.com, Arum said this: “Floyd is still our number one priority. We want to find out if he’s available or what his legal status is. Right now I have no idea. If it’s Floyd, then certainly it’s Vegas. But if it’s [Juan Manuel] Marquez, we might go somewhere else. From now on Manny is going to fight at 147. He is the welterweight champion and he will defend that title. Anybody who wants to fight Manny should fight him at 147.”
Arum has already had the opportunity to match Pacquiao up against Mayweather last year, but the negotiations fell apart after Pacquiao failed to agree to have random blood tests for performance enhancing drugs two weeks before the fight, which is what Mayweather was asking for. If there is going to be a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather in November, blood testing will have to be a part of it.
As for the Marquez fight, Arum could put that fight outside of the U.S. in Abu Dhabi, which would allow Arum to maximize profits. Marquez wants the fight with Pacquiao, but it would be a tricky one to put together because Marquez might want a bigger cut than some of Pacquiao’s recent opponents have been asking for.
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