MANILA, Philippines – With March just around the corner, the prospect of a Manny Pacquiao fight happening in the middle of April has become uncertain.
Pacquiao needs at least eight weeks to train for a fight, and if there are indeed plans to stage his comeback bout on April 14, an official announcement should have already been done weeks ago.
Top Rank is reportedly keen on matching Pacquiao with veteran contender Mike Alvarado, but nothing has been finalized so far.
In a report by Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Top Rank President Todd duBoef declined to go into specifics about Pacquiao’s next fight.
“We're working through a bunch of stuff now, putting stuff together,” DuBoef told Pugmire.
Pacquiao, who last saw action in July last year against Jeff Horn, had earlier declared he’s interested to fight WBA champion Lucas Matthysse. The Argentine boxer, however, is promoted by Top Rank’s chief rival Golden Boy Promotions.
Top Rank’s penchant for doing everything in-house — putting up cards featuring only fighters promoted by or allied with the company — is well documented, making Pacquiao-Alvarado the clearest option.
But there is no word of a deal in place between the camps of Pacquiao and Alvarado.
Text messages sent by Philstar.com to Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz went unanswered.
Even Top Rank boss Bob Arum’s lips are sealed.
"We're going to have an announcement in the next couple days. I can't talk about it," Arum said in the same LA Times report.
At the rate things are going, Pacquiao’s ring return would likely be pushed to May.