Freddie Roach Likes The Idea Of Pacquiao-Peterson; Ring Magazine Readers Vote Pac-Man W12 Marquez “Robbery Of The Year”

Lamont PetersonBy James Slater: With superstar and opponent of choice Floyd Mayweather Junior set to do jail time next year, P-4-P king Manny Pacquiao is looking for his next available opponent. According to his trainer Freddie Roach, who spoke with Ring.tv.com recently, his star fighter could do a lot worse than to fight newly crowned International Boxing Federation (IBF) and WBA 140-pound champ Lamont Peterson.

Peterson, fresh off that upset win over Roach fighter Amir Khan, is currently mulling his options; with some big money on the table for him to take that rematch with Khan. But Roach says that “Lamont is a great opponent for Manny if the Mayweather fight doesn’t happen. That is, if Lamont really doesn’t want to take the [second] fight with Amir Khan.”

Would the fans buy into the idea of Peterson, who is big for a light-welterweight, stepping up (in both weight and in class of opponent) and facing Pacquiao? I think they would. Sure, there would be the usual moaning and groaning about Pacquiao once again picking on a fighter from a lower weight class, but Peterson is a capable, ultra-determined fighter. Write him off, against Pacquiao or anyone else, at your peril.

There is more Ring Magazine-related news relating to 33-year-old Pacquiao, and it’s not good news. As per every year at this time, “The Bible Of Boxing” encourages readers to vote for their choices on a number of awards: Fight Of The Year, KO of The Year, etc. Well, as far as Ring Magazine’s readers stand on 2011’s Robbery of The Year, there was one fight that outdid all others: Pac-Man’s November points win over archrival Juan Manuel Marquez.

43-percent of the 2,270 fans who voted saw Pacquiao’s 12-round majority decision victory as the robbery of 2011, with the Paul Williams WM12 Erislandy Lara coming in second place with a fraction over 32-percent of the votes.

Personally, I think the “win” Williams picked up in July was THE worst decision of the last 12 months, but Pacquiao’s win was also highly tainted in my opinion. It remains to be seen if Pacquiao’s overall popularity will suffer in the coming months due to his claiming “I clearly won the fight” after his third go with “Dinamita.”

In an ideal world, Pacquaio should fight Marquez a fourth time, with the next instalment of this exciting series taking place next for both men. Especially now that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight looks highly unlikely for the first half of 2012.

2011 has not been the best of years for Manny Pacquiao.