Pacquiao, who is coming off two successive wins after his loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., is set to tangle with unbeaten Australian challenger Jeff Horn on July 2, 2017 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Challengers looking for lucrative fights in the 147 pounds limit are lining up for the opportunity to face Pacquiao, whose fights remain saleable despite his losses to Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez.
The reason why Pacquiao fights are easier to sell as promoter Bob Arum would agree could be traced to his fighting style and his enviable sportsmanlike character. He is like a roaring lion in the ring but is also concerned about the safety of his opponent. Most of all, he is exciting and entertaining to watch in the ring.
Aspirants looking at the opportunity to bag a lucrative fight against Pacquiao include among others four American current and former world champions and a title challenger.
Thurman is unbeaten in 29 pro fights and is a known knockout artist. He is the current WBC and WBA unified world titlist. He has held the WBA welterweight title since 2013.
Like Thurman, Crawford is unbeaten in 30 pro fights, winning 21 by way of knockout. He is the current WBC and WBA light welterweight champion
Porter is a former IBF Welterweight titlist having held the crown in 2013 and 2014 but lost the title to Kell Brook via majority decision. He also lost to Thurman in their fight for the WBA welterweight title last year.
Broner is currently without a title but he is coming off a three-fight winning streak since losing to Shane Porter in 2015. He is a former WBA welterweight champion.
Spence is set to face Kell Brook in England for his first attempt to win a world title. At stake in their May 27 fight in England is the IBF Welterweight title. Spence is unbeaten in 21 pro fights with 18 of those fights coming by way of knockout.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum had earlier announced that Pacquiao wouldn’t be fighting in the US for a while citing a declining pay-per-view sales there.
But even before Pacquiao could stage his first fight outside the US following Arum’s announcement, he is now talking about Pacquiao-Crawford fight which has been shelved for a while as Arum starts his overseas matches for Pacquiao’s remaining fights.
“Well, I don’t like to project too far ahead,” Arum said. “[Pacquiao-Crawford] may be two fights ahead. I am not content with guys fighting once or twice a year. That is bullsh*t. I mean, guys have to fight regularly. Terence will fight in May. Manny is fighting in July. Terence would love, I think, if he gets through this fight well, to get back in the ring sometime this summer. And then we’ll look to the fall;” said Arum in a conference call for the Crawford-Diaz fight.
While there is a great possibility Pacquiao would face Amir Khan outside the US (probably in UAE of UK), it is possible he could be headed back to the US as early as November this year to face any of the five US challengers who are all salivating to face Pacquiao for a life-changing purse that only the eight-division world champion and fighting Philippine senator can deliver.
