By Edward Chaykovsky
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum has a backup plan in place - in the event negotiations fall apart for a 2015 mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Arum is holding talks with CBS CEO Les Moonves, who claims he is capable of securing Mayweather for the fight. But promoters have tried to make Mayweather-Pacquiao for several years without much success.
The man who is certainly a short list candidate to face Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) next - is WBA 'regular' junior welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (26-0, 9KOs).
Vargas appeared on the undercard of Pacquiao's defense against Chris Algieri in Macau, and retained his title with a points win over Antonio DeMarco, who works with Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach.
“Vargas has become a fan-friendly fighter,” Arum said to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “He has shown the ability to take a punch and to throw a punch. He deserves to be on the short list for a fight with Manny. That said, I’d like to see him on HBO again so people will become more familiar with Jessie before we put him on a pay-per-view with Manny. But we’ll see. Right now, I’m focusing on trying to get this fight with Mayweather done. I will leave no stone unturned to make the Mayweather fight.”
Vargas’ manager, Cameron Dunkin, told the paper that he's pushing to have his boxer get Pacquiao next year.
“It’s like when I managed Tim Bradley, I went to Bob and said, ‘Just give him a chance against Manny,’ ” Dunkin said. “It’s the same thing with Jessie. All he needs is a chance. Anyone who saw the (DeMarco) fight saw that Jessie comes to fight, that he’s got a ton of guts, and he’s a great kid who is a warrior.”