The team of Manny Pacquiao said the eight-time world champion and recently elected Filipino senator could end his recent retirement to fight Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 17 at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
But Pacquiao officials said nothing would be discussed for about two weeks until after Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions owner Oscar De La Hoya wrap up a Florida trial in which they are being sued in a contract dispute.
“I don’t want to indicate we are negotiating, I just know, in talking with (trainer) Freddie Roach and (advisor) Michael Koncz, I believe Manny might very well agree to do it,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said of a possible Canelo fight.
Roach said: “Everybody would like to see the (Floyd) Mayweather fight happen one more time, but I’m not sure that’s possible. Negotiations are difficult with them. Canelo is one of the best guys out there right now, he’s a pay-per-view fighter and Manny has always done well with bigger, slower guys. I told Arum that I definitely would like that fight with certain stipulations that would make it more of a fair fight, size-wise.”
Pacquiao, 58-6-2 (38 knockouts), and Canelo, 47-1-1 (33 KOs), are two of the biggest names in the sport. Fans are clamoring for a Canelo-Gennady Golovkin fight, but Canelo recently vacated his WBC middleweight title in a move that reportedly hampered negotiations.
Regardless, a Canelo vs. Pacquiao fight would be a likely blockbuster, even though it would feature a middleweight vs. a welterweight.
Roach said stipulations would include a rehydration clause for Alvarez, who has been known to gain as much as 25 pounds from the day-before weigh-in to the opening bell.
“At first, I said no,” Roach said. “But I’d just like to get a reasonable cap on how much weight he can gain. We’d just need to make some little adjustments here and there in the contract, and I’m sure it could be worked out.”
Pacquiao last fought on April 9, winning a 12-round decision over Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, and then immediately retired. A month later, he won one of 12 vacant seats in the Filipino Senate, and now has considerably more obligations than in his previously-held position of congressman.
But Arum said Pacquiao assessed his immediate workload and concluded that there could be an opportunity for him to prepare for a Sept. 17 fight and still meet the demands of his new job.
“It seems as if there could be a window in which he could train primarily in the Philippines and still be able to fight and meet his senatorial obligations,” Arum said.
