By Lem Satterfield

One thing appears almost certain, Manny Pacquiao will face an African American fighter, with a slick boxing style, in his very next fight. Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, is considering several options for the Filipino's first fight of 2011. At the top of Arum's list is Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Arum doesn't argue with the fact that Pacquiao has yet to face a top African American boxer, but that fact could quickly change in the next few months. Arum has several opponents in mind for Pacquiao's next ring appearance. Almost all of those opponents are African American boxers - including undefeated WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto.

"Like I said, there's no argument there that he has not fought a top African American fighter. But the notion that he would not fight an African American fighter is ridiculous. A fight with Shane Mosley would answer that situation. And maybe the winner of Devon Alexander and Tim Bradley would answer that. Andre Berto might be a consideration, also, yes," said Arum.

"There's no reason why he wouldn't fight an Andre Berto, because he's at 147 pounds. Berto's Manny's size, so, you know, that's good. We're looking for African Americans to fight. I would think that it is likely that Manny will fight an African American in his next fight, whether it's Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley, or somebody else."

But according to Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, Mosley is the leading candidate to face Pacquiao - if a Mayweather deal can't be reached. Mosley has the biggest name, sells the most tickets and makes the most economic sense, says Koncz.

"As for Shane Mosley, I had discussions with him in Texas, and that's a possibility. I told him that we would talk after the [Margarito] fight," said Koncz. "I guess that he's with [adviser] James Prince and not with Golden Boy [Promotions] so that makes things easier for us also. Out of all of the African American fighters, the one with the biggest following and that makes the most economic sense to us would be Shane Mosley."

Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here .