Manny Pacquiao has revealed FOUR potential names are in the frame for his scheduled final hurrah on Apr. 9 2016, though Floyd Mayweather is not among them.
A growing belief exists that Pacquiao could rematch Mayweather in the new MGM, Las Vegas Arena, which has a projected opening date of April 2016, although given the Filipino’s latest comments and Mayweather’s assertions he remains retired, a mega-money rematch seems unlikely at the moment, and would admittedly be a tough sell after their disappointing first fight back in May.
However, Britain’s Amir Khan does find himself back in the frame, although is again seemingly waiting only on that call in similar fashion to how he hung around for Floyd Mayweather, and it’s highly likely that he could again be frozen out, losing large chunks of his prime as he hangs around for the big-money opportunities he covets most.
“We have Amir Khan, Danny Garcia, Terrence Crawford or Timothy Bradley,” Pacquiao told Emirates 24/7.
“But I don’t know yet, a lot of names have been given to me by my promoter Bob Arum. We are yet to finalise anything.”
Arum is looking to favour a big in-house match-up with his future star, and current 140 lb champ, Terence Crawford, and quite what a 3rd fight with fellow Top Rank star, Tim Bradley, would achieve is unclear, although now ‘Desert Storm’ holds a world title, there is perhaps some very limited appeal.
With Garcia being an Al Haymon fighter, like Khan, one can be forgiven for thinking both are unlikely to be in the opposite corner to Pacquiao in April, especially given the advisors tenuous relationship with Top Rank.
Khan, who has his own promotional company, claims that Haymon is not an issue in his securing the fight for the very reason his family help represent his interests, although the sensible money is surely on Nebraskan star and 2014 FOTY, Crawford, getting the call to stage what Arum sees as a passing of the torch between his former, and current, stable starlet.
After the fight, Pacquiao intends to re-immerse himself in his political career, standing for the Filipino Senate in May.
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