By Keith Idec
Manny Pacquiao’s return to the ring could come as late as June.
Promoter Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com on Tuesday that he wants to make sure there’s enough distance between Pacquiao’s next fight and other fights Arum deems unworthy of the pay-per-view platform.
Arum declined to comment on specific pay-per-view fights, but the HBO Pay-Per-View main event between Miguel Cotto and James Kirkland on February 25 in Frisco, Texas, could start a troubling trend of pay-per-view fights in five consecutive months.
“Manny’s next fight could be as late as June,” Arum said. “He’s gonna fight twice a year, so if he fights in June and fights in November, that’s OK. And I wanna get away from the cards that are on pay-per-view that shouldn’t be on pay-per-view.”
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs), who’ll turn 38 on Saturday, beat Jessie Vargas (27-2, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the WBO world welterweight title in his last fight, November 5 at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
His previous fight occurred April 9, when he dropped Timothy Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) twice and won their third fight by unanimous decision at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That was before Pacquiao won a May 9 senatorial election in the Philippines.
The Filipino superstar’s job as a senator consumes more of Pacquiao’s time than his previous position as a congressman. His senatorial duties also limit the times during which he is available to train and fight.
Arum plans to visit Pacquiao in the Philippines sometime early in January. That’s when they’ll start discussing potential opponents for his return.
His choice of opponent is entirely up to Pacquiao, according to Arum. Terence Crawford (30-0, 20 KOs) is one of the options, though Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, thus far have been reluctant to fight the undefeated WBC/WBO super lightweight champion from Omaha, Nebraska.
Pacquiao’s plan also could change at any time if Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) decides to come out of retirement for a rematch.
“I’m not holding my breath,” Arum said. “But obviously, if Floyd decides to come back and wants to fight Manny, that’s the fight we would work on. But there’s no indication that that’s the case.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.