Pacquiao’s 3 Best Options For His Comeback Fight

pac562 By Johnathan Culver: How does Manny Pacquiao regain status as an elite fighter and as a top-ten pound-for-pound fighter? He needs to fight a credible, respectable opponent, but also, he needs to WIN the fight. I’m a serious fan of Manny Pacquiao, but I don’t believe his next fight should or will be a pay-per-view-fight. I believe Pacquiao’s next fight will be televised live on the American premium cable/satellite TV network HBO, but I don’t think it should be a pay-per-view fight.

I give Manny Pacquiao a lot of credit for fighting top-ten, pound-for-pound fighters in his last 3 fights – Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez twice. Pacquiao was competitive in his last 3 fights, but he didn’t dominate those fights and he didn’t win all of them. So where does Pacquiao go from here, after this low point in his career? I think Pacquiao should fight a rematch with Timothy Bradley for 3 reasons – Bradley has a world title, he is a (relatively) light puncher and he is an elite fighter, on the top-ten pound-for-pound list of many boxing writers and publications.

Pacquiao & Marquez to choose between Senchenko and Vargas for April tune-up fights

By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez are being given the choice of between Jessie Vargas and Vyacheslav Senchenko for their tune-up fights next April. Pacquiao will be fighting on April 13th, and he reportedly will be given the first pick of the two, according to Manila Bulletin, and Marquez will be selecting whichever fighter is left over.

Roach excited about Pacquiao vs. Marquez 5, thinks it’ll break all-time PPV mark

By Rob Smith: Freddie Roach doesn’t see the need for Manny Pacquiao to take any tune-up fights, and he just wants him back in the ring and ready to take on Juan Manuel Marquez for a fifth fight. Roach is excited about the fight because he thinks it’ll break the 2.4 million pay per view totals from the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. mark back in 2007. Those totals are the highest PPV mark ever in the sport, and Roach thinks Pacquiao-Marquez 5 will bust that record.

Pacquiao to fight in April; Singapore, Dubai or Macau possible locations

pac342 By Rob Smith: Manny Pacquiao’s next fight on April 20th likely won’t be in the United States. His team is looking at having his next fight take place in one of following sites in Asia: Singapore, Dubai or Macau. The reason for this is the lower tax burden that Pacquiao would have by having his fight staged there rather than in the U.S, where he’s been fighting for the past 11 years.

Juan Manuel Marquez had been mentioned as possibly being a part of Pacquiao’s April 20th card in a separate tune-up fight. However, Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Konz told the Manila Bulletin at mb.com.ph, it would be “Extra expenses” if they put Marquez on the card, and that’s not likely to happen now.

They have someone they’re looking at to put Pacquiao in with Koncz says. On Thursday, there were reports that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is considering having Pacquiao fight either Brandon Rios or Tim Bradley. Whether Pacquaio will in fact face one of them is highly doubtful because those aren’t tune-up fights and it would be a huge risk for him to take on fighters of this talent level with a big money rematch with Marquez just over the horizon in September.

Arum can certainly make any fight he wants to, of course, because Top Rank is his promotional company, but it would be a dangerous move to put Pacquiao in with anyone that would have a chance of beating him at this point in his career with the Marquez rematch coming later this year. If this was a younger Pacquiao then it would be understandable because a prime Manny would easily take care of guys like Rios and Bradley. However, Pacquiao is starting to slow down now and he’s lost his last two fights.

Who will Arum match Pacquiao and Marquez up with on April 20th?

arum45 By Rob Smith: Bob Arum of Top Rank is interested in putting together a doubleheader on April 20th with Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez each fight separate tune-up fights on a pay per view card. Arum wants to get the boxing public interested in a September fifth fight between the two fighters.

A tune-up really isn’t needed for the 39-year-old Marquez because he looked really sharp on December 8th last month in stopping Pacquiao in the 6th round. But Pacquiao definitely needs a tune-up bout or two because he was badly knocked out and the Arum probably needs to make sure he’s okay by having him fight a safe opponent without any power to speak of.

With this being a tune-up fight I would figure that Arum would look to match Pacquiao against a weak punching 2nd tier fighter so there’s no risk of Pacquiao getting knocked out again, but I think Arum will want to keep the fight an in house Top Rank affair by matching him against one of his own fighters.

Pacquiao and Marquez in possible tune-up doubleheader on April 20th

marquez34 By Rob Smith: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is reportedly interested in putting together separate tune-up bouts for his fighter Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in a pay per view doubleheader on April 20th, according to the Manila Bulletin. Pacquiao’s anxious to get back in the ring and his 90-day medical suspension will have expired by that point. The tune-up bouts would get Pacquiao and Marquez ready for a huge mega fight later on in the year in September if the two fighters agree to it.

Marquez still needs to say ‘yes’ to the idea of the April 20th doubleheader. Arum spoke with Marquez’s promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions and he’s going to be speaking with Marquez to see if he’s on board with this idea.

Arum likes the idea of the Pacquiao and Marquez doubleheader because it’ll get boxing fans interested in a fight between the two stars in September in what would be a fifth fight between them. It’s likely that their September fight will take place on the Mexican Independence day on September 14th or around the same time.

Pacquiao could fight twice in 2013

pac342 By Rob Smith: The recently knocked out Manny Pacquiao could still be fighting twice this year, according to ABS-CBN News. Pacquiao just arrived back from vacation in Israel and he reportedly may choose to fight twice in 2013 if possible. His opponents are still undecided, although his promoter Bob Arum is very high on putting Pacquiao back in with Juan Manuel Marquez for a fifth fight.

Before Pacquiao fights again, he’ll likely be checked out at the Cleveland Brain Clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada to make sure that he’s okay to fight again. This is what Arum wants before Pacquiao gets back in the ring.

For Pacquiao to fight twice in 2013, he’s going to have to be back in the ring by at least June or July, since his fights are often five months apart. It’s possible for Pacquiao to fight twice but he may have to convince Arum that this is a good idea because he’s been talking about having Pacquiao rest until September.

If Pacquiao fights in September then he’ll only get one fight in this year. It looks like Pacquiao doesn’t want to drop off his activity level, so we should be hearing something soon if he does indeed plan on getting two fights in this year.

Roach likes Pacquiao vs. Robert Guerrero fight

roach2 By Rob Smith: Trainer Freddie Roach would like the idea of Manny Pacquiao possibly facing WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero sometime in the future. Obviously, that’s not a fight that can happen in 2013, as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum badly wants to match his struggling star Pacquiao back up with Juan Manuel Marquez in September if Pacquiao can pass the medical exams for the fight. But a fight between Pacquiao and Guerrero would be an interesting one if Guerrero doesn’t get beaten too badly by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their possible fight on May 4th.

Roach told the boxingchannel.tv “He [Guerrero] did quite well with Manny in sparring, it was quite competitive. If this sparring session was like a fight, it would be a great fight because it was give and take for both guys Would we fight him? We’re not afraid of him [Guerrero] that’s for sure. Guerrero is a great fight.”

Obviously isn’t in great shape right now having been knocked out badly last December by Marquez, and it might not be a good idea to put Pacquiao in with a high volume puncher with a great chin like Guerrero because Pacquiao’s stamina and chin are both questionable at this point.

Pacquiao not ready to retire, says he’s feeling good

By Rob Smith: In response to the comment from a Filipino doctor that he might have the symptoms of early Parkinson’s disease, Manny Pacquiao spoke up and said he’s feeling fine and isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon despite the doctor’s advice that he should consider doing so.

10 Fights that Must Happen in 2013

By Jazz Gill: 2012 was a superb year of fights for boxing fans, even if it was the year when the dream of Mayweather vs Pacquiao died forever.

The two still had great fights respectively, whilst other veterans like the Klitschko brothers and Sergio Martinez continued to dominate. At the same time, new young stars proved they are capable of going u the next step – Austin Trout and Danny Garcia for example – whilst others proved they are among the elite of today and ready to take the mantle of the aforementioned veterans (Nonito Donaire, Robert Guerrero and Andre Ward).