For Mayweather, it appears that he will fight on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with or without Pacquiao. But who will Mayweather choose to be his next ring partner if he finally walks away from Pacquiao?
At least two aspirants have indicated their desire to face Mayweather on May 2. They are Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto and Amir Khan of United Kingdom.
Khan has been courting Mayweather for months, saying he has worked hard by beating his last four opponents, making him a worthy challenger.
Mayweather seemed unimpressed with Khan, saying the British fighter is not known and isn’t ready for a blockbuster fight.
“The other night I think he did 4,000 [attendance], so, Amir Khan, his name holds no weight,” Mayweather said at the World Boxing Council convention. “No one knows who Amir Khan is, except for people who are involved in boxing.”
The other aspirant is Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico, who Mayweather fought in 2012, winning via a unanimous decision to claim Cotto’s WBA (Super) Light Middleweight title.
But Cotto doesn’t belong to the Mayweather circle of fighters and would be harder to deal with compared to Khan, who fights under Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), the company that handled Mayweather’s previous title fights.
In Pacquiao’s case, his promoter Bob Arum has picked unbeaten Jessie Vargas, who is the current WBA light welterweight champion to be his next opponent if Mayweather rejects the Pacquiao challenge.
If the ongoing Mayweather-Pacquaio talks fail, Pacquiao and Vargas will likely fight later in May or early June this year.
Pacquiao’s other option is Amir Khan, who will be pleased fighting either Pacquiao or Mayweather in the U.S. or in the United Kingdom.
Pacquiao, along with adviser Michael Koncz, met with Khan in UK early this month to discuss the possibility of facing each other in the ring.
Fellow stable mate at Top Rank Ruslan Provodnikov could also be tapped as Pacquiao’s next opponent but the Russian brawler has been working on a possible showdown with Lucas Matthysse next month.
Earlier, Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said that there are only two more issues that need to be resolved and was optimistic that the contract will be signed in the next few days. But almost a week has passed and no fight contract has been signed.
Hopefully, Mayweather, who has been designated to announce the outcome of the ongoing talks will bring positive news for fight fans in a few days.
