Inamin ni Top Rank big boss Bob Arum na kapag muling umatras si pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. na harapin si WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, ilalaban niya ang Pinoy boxer kay British boxing superstar na si Amir Khan sa Mayo 30 o apat na linggo matapos ang May 2 bout ng Amerikano sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sa panayam ng ESPN, sinabi ni Arum na kapag hindi natuloy ang Pacquiao-Mayweather welterweight megabout sa Mayo 2, ikakasa na lamang niya ang Pilipino kay Khan o kanino man sa magsasagupang sina dating WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov ng Russia o Argentinian boxing idol Lucas Matthysse.
Mas gusto ni Arum na maikasa si Pacquiao kay Mayweather ngunit malaki ang hinala niyang maghahanap na naman ng bagong katwiran ang Amerikano para makaiwas sa Pinoy boxer na puwedeng lumaban sa Las Vegas, New York, London o Abu Dhabi.
“A lot of places around the world want to host a Manny Pacquiao fight,” giit ni Arum. “He’s an international icon, and I have been approached by a number of people looking to host a Manny Pacquiao fight.”
Archdiocese of Manila, hindi mag-eendorso ng kandidato sa eleksyon
Sinabi naman ni Khan sa FightHype.com na sakaling magharap sila ni Pacquiao ay hindi siya papayag sa catch weight at maglalaban lamang sa 147 pounds o welterweight division.
“You know, because I’m so used to 147 and I built myself up to 147, I think 147 is just an ideal weight for me. I wouldn’t want to go lower or higher. Let’s just stick to 147,” ani Khan na dating ka-stable ni Pacquiao sa Wildcard Gym ni Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
“Manny’s fought at 147 numerous times. Obviously Algieri was coming up from 147. I’m already a full-on 147 fighter, so the fight would probably be made at 147. Plus, you know, the title would be on the line there as well,” dagdag ni Khan. “I have the WBC silver title and the winner would move on to the number one position to fight Mayweather after that. I think the only way of getting the Mayweather fight would be probably forcing him and putting him in that corner, so 147 is the ideal weight for us to take that fight.”
