By Chris Williams: Michael Koncz, the close adviser to WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, is saying that Pacquiao still hasn’t selected an opponent yet for his next fight, which is tentatively set for June 9th after Floyd Mayweather Jr. is safely out of the picture doing his 90-day jail term.

Koncz said to the Manila Standard “We have not made a decision. We are not rushing.”

This is kind of strange news from Koncz, as Pacquiao already finished meeting with his promoter Bob Arum last week and it was assumed that the two of them had decided upon Pacquiao’s next opponent during that meeting. But now Koncz is saying otherwise and it’s kind of hard to buy into what he’s saying.

It could be that Koncz is just stalling the media until next week when Arum’s pick for Pacquiao is announced. The June 9th fight date pretty much tells you all you need to know about a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight taking place.

As far as the four candidates go for Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez has reportedly been ruled out as a potential opponent for Pacquiao on June 9th. That leaves the big three: Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto and Lamont Peterson. Of that bunch, only Cotto guarantees a big pay per view bout with Pacquiao, as Bradley and Peterson are younger fighters still building up their fan bases. Cotto has a built in huge loyal Puerto Rican fan base. Cotto could fight a sparring partner and still likely attract a huge PPV audience. It seems pretty logical for Cotto to get the Pacquiao fight over what’s left of the big four.

I frankly am disgusted with the thought of Pacquiao fighting Cotto again. You don’t fight guys again after you’ve whipped them beyond belief and knocked them out. That would be like Vitali Klitschko fighting Chris Arreola or Shannon Briggs again just because the fight will make more than a fight against guys that he hasn’t fought before. A Cotto-Pacquiao rematch would be a bout for the two fighters’ loyal patriotic boxing fans, but not for fans of the sport of boxing who want to see a competitive fight.