By John F. McKenna (McJack): Filipino icon and former eight division champion Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) has continued to remains silent with regard to who his next opponent will be. The silence and team Pacquiao’s decision to delay his return to the ring from November 10 to December 1 only serves to fuel the rumors swirling around the boxing world as to who Manny’s opponent will be.
The story put out by Pacquiao spokesman Michael Koncz of a scheduling conflict for November 10 may be true, but it is likely that the issues around the conflict were already present before the original date was picked.
Potential opponents for the new December 1 date include new WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (29-0-1 NC, 12 KO’s), WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s), Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30 KO’s) and of course undefeated superstar WBO light middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s).
More than likely Bradley has been ruled out by Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and team Pacquiao because of his inability to draw fans to his fights. Pay Per View sales for the Pacquiao – Bradley fight in June were poor to say the least. The vast majority of boxing pundits and fans feel that “Pacman” clearly dominated Bradley in June and feel that there is no need for an encore. And while Arum is frequently viewed as the bogeyman by boxing fans it is almost certain that Pacquiao would want the same cut for a rematch with Bradley as he received for some of his more lucrative fights.
Marquez supposedly has been ruled out because of his excessive demands. In other words he wants more money than Arum is willing to shell out. With Cotto too there are problems putting a deal together. Cotto who now fights at the light middleweight level is unlikely to want to move down in weight. Pacquiao will not go above 150 pounds. It may just be that Cotto does not really want to fight “Pacman” again, who clearly dismantled him in 2009. Cotto’s claim that he was weight drained against Pacquiao is pure hogwash. He weighed just a pound less for Manny than he did for his prior fight.
That leaves Floyd Mayweather Jr. There are some who think that Floyd has now changed his stance. Instead of trashing Pacquiao as he normally does, he recently referred to him as an unbelievable fighter. Wow! What a change of heart!
Mayweather is now engaged in a new promotional team called TMT (The Money Team). TMT is headed by his close friend rapper 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson). Many see this new development as a hopeful sign that a Pacquiao – Mayweather fight will finally come to fruition. Or it may be another ploy by “Money May” to stay relevant while he searches out his next opponent.
Boxing fans should not get their hopes up too high. It is this writer’s gut feeling that if the Pacquiao – Mayweather fight was going to happen it would have happened by now. Hopefully I am wrong.
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