Manny Pacquiao vs. Viktor Postol Next Fight in the Cards
A fight between Manny Pacquiao and Viktor Postol is now reportedly in the cards after the latter knocked out Argentine boxer Lucas Matthysse.
Earlier reports said Manny Pacquiao was supposed to fight Lucas Matthysse after his defeat to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but the plan was later on discarded after Ukrainian boxer Viktor Postol knocked out Matthysse in their fight, according to Yibada.
Because of the turn of events, Postol is being touted as the best replacement for Matthysse in Pacquiao's next fight. However, there are those wondering where Freddie Roach's loyalty will be if and when the fight commences.
Boxing News 24 said Postol has now become Roach's "new favorite fighter." The report led many to suggest that Roach would drop Pacquiao in favor of Postol, but the famous trainer later on clarified his statement.
"It's one of the greatest wins of my career. I said he was my favorite Russian fighter," Yibada quotes Roach's statement to the LA Daily News. "Then somebody told me he was Ukrainian."
Postol's victory over Matthysse has made him Roach's 36th world champion, the report adds.
It seems that Pacquiao is fast running out of opponent options for his comeback fight after his well-publicized loss to Mayweather. The Filipino boxer is expected to redeem himself by the end of next year, but there are now only a handful of big fight options that will allow him to soar above the circumstances, Boxing Buzz reports.
Meanwhile, Roach is still preparing Miguel Cotto for his match against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Despite his promise to redeem himself from the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, he seems too preoccupied now to worry about anything else.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has told the public that he wants to go back to the 140-pound weight class in which Postol belongs to. Should a fight between them commence, Roach will surely have a hard time choosing between the two great fighters.
For now, Roach still has a lot of time to decide because Top Rank promoter Bob Arum reportedly is planning to create more matches for Postol. Arum said it would be difficult to beat Postol in both the 140-pound and 147-pound divisions because his fighting style is difficult to match.