Boxing News: Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent potentially named this week
Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines has yet to decide on his next opponent. However, his adviser, Michael Koncz, recently stated that a decision from the Filipino champion could be coming this week.
“We haven’t had the chance to talk about it but he promised me that we’ll discuss it this week,” Koncz was quoted saying via Manila Bulletin, a local daily newspaper in Pacquiao’s home country.
Ever since his disappointing loss and performance to Floyd Mayweather in the “Fight of the Century” last May, Pacquiao has taken the backseat in the boxing world as one of its elite fighters.
The rise of Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan and Canelo Alvarez of Mexico, both of whom are coming off stirring wins in their most recent fights, has made the pair two of the most sought after fighters in boxing.
Golovkin is undefeated in 34 bouts with 31 coming by way of knockouts. The Kazakh fighter recently defeated Canada’s David Lemieux via an eight round knockout win. Alvarez, who has a record of 46-1-1 with 32 knockouts, won over Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico last Saturday via a 12-round unanimous decision.
There is even talk of a probable match between Golovkin and Alvarez although both fighters can’t seem to agree on which weight should they be fighting if the match-up happens.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao reportedly is choosing between Americans Terence Crawford and Timothy Bradley and British Amir Khan. A rematch with Mayweather has also been rumoured although the American has yet to announce if he will return to the ring anytime soon.
According to reports, Bob Arum, the chief for Top Rank Promotions, which handles Pacquiao’s fights, stated that they have already sent Pacquiao tapes of Crawford so the Filipino can evaluate if he wants to face the American.
Among the prospective Pacquiao opponents, Khan appeared to be the front-runner in previous months although no development has been reported recently in the negotiations for the Pacquiao-Khan fight.
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