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LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao doesn’t care if it’s the knockout king from Venezuela or the bulldog from Britain who will be tapped by Top Rank chief Bob Arum as his opponent on Nov. 8.
"I am not running away from a fight. I am willing to fight anybody who will be put in front of me by my promoter," said Pacquiao on Monday night from his apartment at The Palazzo in La Brea, two days after crowning himself as the new World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight king.
Arum said Las Vegas and a city in Texas are frontrunners to host the year-ending Pacquiao fight.
Arum immediately disclosed to some writers following Pacquiao’s ninth-round demolition of David Diaz that he is close to signing Edwin Valero as he had been negotiating with Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotions the past few days.
Honda, acknowledged as the Don King of Japan, has the promotional control over Valero, the unbeaten and reigning World Boxing Association super-featherweight king, who parades a 24-0 win-loss record with all wins by knockout, including 19 in the very first round.
Arum said Valero has been encountering problems making the 130-lb limit in title fights lately and is aching to jump to 135 to have a shot at the greatness of Pacquiao.
Valero is not allowed to box in the US except in the state of Texas. That’s because he failed a medical test in New York a few years ago.
Arum, however, is confident Nevada will lift its ban on Valero.
Valero had figured in a motorcycle accident in Venezuela and medical findings show that he is not fit to fight.
Arum said Nevada will soon re-examine the application for license of Valero, who has been cleared to fight in Japan, Panama, France, Mexico and Argentina.
Valero used to be based in Tokyo but has now relocated to Las Vegas where he trains under American cornerman Kenny Adams, who expects the steel-fisted South American top show up in the gym sometime this July to begin training for his next bout.
Honda said Valero is vacationing in Venezuela.
Valero, 26, retained his WBA 130-lb crown early last month when he stopped Takehiro Shimada in seven rounds in Tokyo.
Super-lightweight Ricky Hatton is also on Team Pacquiao’s radar screen and the Filipino southpaw is not intimidated that he will be trying out a new weight class.
Hatton and Pacquiao are almost of the same height and build but the Englishman is faster than Diaz, who was slow on his feet, and more powerful than the average-hitting Mexican-American from Chicago.
"I am not running away from a fight. I am willing to fight anybody who will be put in front of me by my promoter," said Pacquiao on Monday night from his apartment at The Palazzo in La Brea, two days after crowning himself as the new World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight king.
Arum said Las Vegas and a city in Texas are frontrunners to host the year-ending Pacquiao fight.
Arum immediately disclosed to some writers following Pacquiao’s ninth-round demolition of David Diaz that he is close to signing Edwin Valero as he had been negotiating with Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotions the past few days.
Honda, acknowledged as the Don King of Japan, has the promotional control over Valero, the unbeaten and reigning World Boxing Association super-featherweight king, who parades a 24-0 win-loss record with all wins by knockout, including 19 in the very first round.
Arum said Valero has been encountering problems making the 130-lb limit in title fights lately and is aching to jump to 135 to have a shot at the greatness of Pacquiao.
Valero is not allowed to box in the US except in the state of Texas. That’s because he failed a medical test in New York a few years ago.
Arum, however, is confident Nevada will lift its ban on Valero.
Valero had figured in a motorcycle accident in Venezuela and medical findings show that he is not fit to fight.
Arum said Nevada will soon re-examine the application for license of Valero, who has been cleared to fight in Japan, Panama, France, Mexico and Argentina.
Valero used to be based in Tokyo but has now relocated to Las Vegas where he trains under American cornerman Kenny Adams, who expects the steel-fisted South American top show up in the gym sometime this July to begin training for his next bout.
Honda said Valero is vacationing in Venezuela.
Valero, 26, retained his WBA 130-lb crown early last month when he stopped Takehiro Shimada in seven rounds in Tokyo.
Super-lightweight Ricky Hatton is also on Team Pacquiao’s radar screen and the Filipino southpaw is not intimidated that he will be trying out a new weight class.
Hatton and Pacquiao are almost of the same height and build but the Englishman is faster than Diaz, who was slow on his feet, and more powerful than the average-hitting Mexican-American from Chicago.
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