Manny Pacquiao
Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum said if Terence Crawford puts a great performance against Dierry Jean on Saturday, it will enhance him as Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent. Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

Manny Pacquiao has not picked an opponent yet for his comeback fight next year, but according to Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum, the Filipino boxing icon may have to wait for the result of the fight between Terence Crawford and Diery Jean before making a decision.

Arum, who promotes both Crawford and Pacquiao, said it will be up to the former eight-division titlist to pick his next opponent despite proposing a five-man list of potential foes last month, which includes Crawford, Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse, Kell Brook and Juan Manuel Marquez. However, Arum admitted that if Crawford (26-0, 18 KOs) could defend his World Boxing Organisation junior welterweight title against Jean (29-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday, the American boxer could land a bout with Pacquiao in 2016.

“I want to see a good performance from Crawford,” Arum told LA Times . “So if Crawford gives a great performance, it enhances him as a Manny opponent.”

A Crawford-Pacquiao bout is almost certain, simply because both fighters are under Arum’s Top Rank stable, and the fight would increase Crawford’s boxing value. However, Chris Williams of Boxing New 24 believes Crawford fighting Pacquiao would not do much for the 28-year-old’s popularity.

“I think it’s a lock,” Williams noted. “Crawford gets the fight against Pacquiao whether he looks bad against Dierry Jean or looks good.”

Williams also noted that Arum is hoping that Crawford would be a star overnight in the same way Pacquiao did when the Filipino fighter won against Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. However, Williams insisted that the situation is completely different, with Crawford having a very few fan base and lacking an exciting fighting style that Pacquiao has.

Pacquiao, who is on his way to full recovery after undergoing a surgery that repaired his torn rotator cuff suffered against Floyd Mayweather in May, is set to return in the boxing ring early next year, but the former eight-division titlist has not determined a possible opponent yet. The boxer-turned-politician has been heavily linked with British fighter Khan, but talks for a potential fight did not materialise, according to the Bolton welterweight.

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