Manny Pacquiao comeback bout in Kuala Lumpur?

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao would rather fight in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the main attraction, than in the United States, as an undercard to the Jeff Horn-Terence Crawford title bout in April.

“Insulto naman ‘yun (It’s an insult to me),” said Pacquiao in rejecting the offer from Bob Arum for him to be in the undercard of the Top Rank show set in Las Vegas either April 14 or April 21.

Pacquiao, by himself, has been trying to secure the fight in the Malaysian capital. A couple times, he has met with a member of the Malaysian royal family regarding the plan.

The Filipino senator, who will turn 40 in December, said his ring return can be staged in Kuala Lumpur from April 29 to May 5.

“Hindi pa naman late (It’s not too late). Puwede pa sa (It’s still possible for) April or May. Pwede na ako mag-training (I can start training),” said the eight-division world champion.

If the fight is sealed soon, Pacquiao will have a window of six to eight weeks to train for his first fight since July last year when he lost the WBO welterweight crown to Horn in Brisbane.

Negotiations are on regarding the opponent but the Pacquiao camp would rather withhold the name of the opponent, someone who does not belong to the Top Rank stable.

Pacquiao, in fact, had entertained thoughts of staging his comeback fight in Hong Kong or Macau.

Pacquiao’s information officer, Aquiles Zonio, said an announcement will be made once everything is sealed.

Arum had wanted to pit Pacquiao against former world junior-bantamweight champion Mike Alvarado in April, and if successful, he can fight the winner between Horn and Crawford in the fall.

Pacquiao had instead expressed interest in facing Lucas Matthysse, the 35-year-old WBA welterweight champion from Argentina, who is 39-4 with 33 knockouts.  

The Filipino superstar wants Matthysse, who belongs to Golden Boy Promotions, over Alvarado, the 37-year-old Arum fighter from Denver, Colorado, who is 38-4 but has lost four of his last nine fights.

Pacquiao, according to his spokesman, did not turn down the offer to fight in the US due to conflict with his senatorial duties. In fact, the Senate will be on a break from March 23 to May 14, providing him with ample time for training and the fight itself.

“It’s not because of any conflict in schedule (Senate),” he said.