By Victor Salazar
HBO's unofficial scorekeeper, Harold Lederman, is one of the many who expect eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38KOs) to continue his career beyond the upcoming fight on April 9th.
Pacquiao will face WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley in a trilogy bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The Filipino star has promised to retire following that fight, win or lose, as he pursues a full time career in politics back home in the Philippines.
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, has doubts about the trilogy being Manny's last fight, and trainer Freddie Roach believes his fighter will indeed continue his career.
If Pacquiao decides to continue, the pool of opponents is dwindling for him. The majority of the big names at welterweight and junior welterweight are under contract with adviser/manager Al Haymon, who does little to no business with Top Rank.
Lederman sees a darkhorse in the welterweight ranks, IBF champion Kell Brook (35-0, 24KOs).
He would love to see Pacquiao fight Brook next. The British fighter will return on March 26th when he makes a mandatory defense against Kevin Bizier in Sheffield. Brook then wants a major fight for the summer. His team is attempting to secure a domestic blockbuster with Amir Khan, but that is far from done.
Brook is promoted by Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport and there are no network issues or managerial conflicts to prevent a deal with Pacquiao from coming together. But, Hearn has attempted to get Brook in the ring with a few Top Rank fighters (Brandon Rios, Bradley) in the past without success.
“Kell Brook is an underrated guy, no one knows him but he just keeps on coming. If you’re asking for an up and coming guy, it would be Kell Brook. I think Kell Brook would give Manny a great fight at 147. I think Kell Brook would give everyone a great fight at 147," Lederman told BoxingScene.com.