Friday, June 10, 2011

Who’s next? Pacman list of opponents is short

You can pretty much scratch Floyd Mayweather off your Manny Pacquiao wish list. The fight isn't happening anytime soon.

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum said Mayweather knows who to call and right now it looks like "Money" doesn't want to fight Pacman.

"He knows us," Arum said of Mayweather. "If he had any desire to fight Manny Pacquiao, he would call Todd [duBoef, Top Rank president] and tell us. We have that kind of relationship with him.

"He said if he comes back, he wants a tune-up fight. If that's the case, it wouldn't be until next year that he would be available [to fight Pacquiao]."

Mayweather might be interested in facing newly crowned WBC welterweight champ Victor Ortiz. The rumor is Mayweather would face Ortiz at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on Sept. 17. Assuming the NFL lockout ends and the season starts on time, the Cowboys are on the road in San Francisco on Sept. 18.

So that leaves three options for Manny Pacquiao - Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Zab Judah.

Ortiz and Pacquiao training partner Amir Khan are not options for Pacquiao because they're promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. Top Rank Promotion's Arum was quick to point it's not him who has the issue with GBP.

"They defamed him. His aspirations are to finish up his career and run for President of the Philippines. He doesn't want that stain on his record. For no reason, they defamed him," Arum said during the postfight press conference (4:30 mark).

Pacquiao is suing Golden Boy in federal court, but Arum said everything could be fixed by one simple action.

"By making a true an contrite apology, and then Manny being Manny might not object to them being involved in a promotion," Arum said.

Marquez actually met with Arum and Top Rank officials on Saturday morning before Pacquiao's win over Shane Mosley. Marquez asked for revisions to a previous offer and they were granted. Arum said Marquez would receive the official offer this morning.

It would be the third fight between the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters. The first fight ended in a draw and Pacquiao took a narrow split decision in the second.

Marquez wants the fight. The only hitch is Golden Boy. In an effort to facilitate the Pacquiao fight, Marquez split with GBP, but the promotion has the first right of refusal on any fight he wants to take.

Bradley is in a holding pattern. He was offered Amir Khan on July 23rd, but hasn't signed the contract. He's waiting to see what happens with Marquez first.

Either way, the date of Pacquiao's next appearance is virtually locked in stone. The bout will be in Las Vegas on Nov. 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena or Nov. 12 at the Thomas & Mack Arena.

Kristy Swanson Ali Campoverdi Giuliana DePandi Pamela Anderson Amber Arbucci

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