By Carlos Boogs

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is sizing up the potential 2017 opponents for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38KOs). Last month Pacquiao returned from a short-lived retirement and defeated Jessie Vargas for the WBO belt.

One fighter that it won't be is WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko - who Roach believes is backing away from the fight. Their mutual promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, would like to match them at a reasonable catch-weight.

Roach says Lomachenko is requesting at least one-year to prepare for a Pacquiao fight, which is being planned for next April or May.

“Crawford has the better chance [over Lomachenko to get the fight]. Lomachenko said that he wants to fight at 130 and wants one year to get ready for the fight. I said 'you want a whole year to get ready for the fight?' I think that’s a very nice way of saying you don’t want the fight. That's impossible," Roach told a group of reporters.

"We may end up with that fight [against Crawford]. It's a very, very difficult fight. Crawford is a very good fighter. He can move. He’s a good boxer. He’s maybe like a young Mayweather I feel -  but he’s a little better puncher than Mayweather. He’s a dangerous guy. That could be our next fight. If we don’t get a rematch with Mayweather and so forth, then that’s a fight we may need to take because we still want to be on top of the game. We can’t just fight stiffs. We have to fight the best guys out there."

Roach admits that he'd still prefer WBO junior middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (48-1-1, 34KOs) - as long as there is a rehydration clause that controls Canelo's weight on the morning of the fight. He's confident Pacquiao cane outbox and beat Canelo.

"I like Alvarez a little bit better [for Pacquiao], but the thing is can I put a cap on how much he gains after the weigh-in? That’s the key. The IBF rule [regarding their fight day rehydratdion clause], 10 pounds, something like that [is needed for the fight]. I’m really not worried about what he weighs going into the weigh-in. I’m worried about how much he puts on, how much bigger he is with Manny. By fight time, this guy is a light heavyweight for Christ's sake."

"I’d rather have the fight at 147 of course, but we’d have to do a catch-weight. I think that’s the issue that’s keeping that fight from not happening right away. I’m sure that Golden Boy and Top Rank would both love to have that fight, because I think it’s a very competitive fight."