Manny Pacquiao circles April 20 as fight date after Marquez
Manny Pacquiao fans can circle April 20 on their calendar for his next fight after his fourth bout against Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8.
However, speculating that an April opponent will be Floyd Mayweather Jr. is extremely premature, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said Thursday.
“Nobody’s even talked to Mayweather,” Arum said. “If Mayweather wants to fight, great. Manny will fight anybody.”
The Manila Bulletin, a leading newspaper in the Philippines, where Pacquiao is a congressman, reported the April 20 date.
Arum said the date emerged in conversations he had with Pacquiao that took into consideration the boxer’s involvement in late-spring elections.
“He doesn’t want to fight in May, and the last date he was available in the spring was April 20,” Arum said. “That’s all we’ve said.”
Pacquiao last month said he was willing to concede 55% of the purse and make other concessions to Mayweather to put together a long-delayed super-fight between boxing’s top two pound-for-pound fighters.
Mayweather has not responded publicly to that offer. His advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, said that if Mayweather Jr. opts to fight Pacquiao, it will be on Mayweather’s terms.
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