This weekend, promoter Bob
Arum will fly to the Philippines to meet with Manny Pacquiao to discuss just
who the “Pac-Man” will face on November 10th in his next pay-per-view
event in Las Vegas (and no, it will not be Floyd Mayweather, so just stop it-
but more on that later). It seems like some familiar names are in the mix to
face Pacquiao again.
“It's [Juan Manuel] Marquez,
Tim Bradley and [Miguel] Cotto if we can arrive at a weight,” Arum told
Maxboxing on Monday (it was reported that Cotto- who for years was a Top Rank
client - had given the green light to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard
Schaefer to proceed with his next fight at Madison Square Garden on December 1st: http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/174051-olympians-to-turn-pro-in-las-vegas.
To this Arum replied, “He's lying; typical Schaefer, who everyone is wondering
why he's so crazy and why he's so spooked because we haven't done anything to
spook him and now we know.”).
Of the three names put forth
by Arum, regardless of who makes the cut, there is still a bit of a problem they
face. While the trio is comprised of quality fighters, there seems to be a bit
of a fatigue regarding Marquez (who has faced Pacquiao three times) and there
may not be much public demand for Bradley who, despite being gaining the
decision over the Filipino icon in June, was thought to have received a gift.
As for Cotto, Pacquiao soundly defeated him back in November of 2009.
It really looks like the
race to face Pacquiao next is between Marquez and Bradley given that Cotto seems
to have his heart set on headlining at the Garden and Arum has stated in the
past that because of the tax situation in New York, Pacquiao would most likely
never fight in that state.
“Well, you have to
understand who you're talking to,” explained Arum of what they are dealing
with. “Marquez's strength is the Hispanic support that he brings- which is not
to be overlooked- and the Marquez fight [last November] did 400,000 buys higher
than the Bradley fight. So without Anglos and so forth, boxing people, I think
it's the Bradley fight because of the Hispanic element. That changes the
computation.”
The Pacquiao-Marquez fight
last year was believed to have done fewer than 1.3 million pay-per-view
purchases.
You have to wonder if the next
Pacquiao fight will have a “Been there, done that” feel to it.
