Manny Pacquiao News: Arum Surprised By 'Pacman's' Delay Of Opponent Annoucement; Jeff Mayweather Believes Crawford Beats Filipino Boxer
Top Rank Promotions head honcho Bob Arum is surprised about Manny Pacquiao's delay in announcing his next opponent.
The first and only eight-division world champion is looking to hold his 66th and supposed final fight on April 9th of the coming year, but has not yet made a final decision on who he prefers to face. A shortlist of opponents has already been released. In it are the names of his former sparring partner Amir Khan, undefeated WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford, and WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.
In a tweet posted by Dan Rafael of ESPN, Pacquiao was supposed to make the announcement regarding his next opponent on Friday, December 11th. However, it did not push through according to another report by ESPN because Pacquiao was "not ready" to make a decision yet.
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This seemed to have bothered his 84-year old promoter, who shared his sentiments in an interview with Boxingscene.
"Being surprised is a polite term for it," Arum said. "But again, it's his career, it's his life, and the announcement will come when it will come."
Meanwhile, Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s uncle Jeff thinks that Crawford will emerge victorious if he does end up fighting Pacquiao. In an interview with On the Ropes Boxing Radio, Jeff believes Crawford's main advantage over Pacquiao is his ability to switch stances, backed up by punching power.
Mayweather also noted that the fight will not go to the judges' scorecards, since Pacquiao had been viciously knocked out in the past.
"There's a possibility that he [Pacquiao] could be knocked out, but if that fight were happening and I was gonna bet on that fight and I was gonna pick the winners, I would pick Crawford," he said.
Crawford holds an unblemished record of 27-0, with 19 victories by knockout. He last saw action in October against Canadian Dierry Jean, and won by a tenth round technical knockout.
