“Manny is training more seriously and harder than any time I have ever seen him. Manny, to me, looks more dedicated than ever and General Santos City is the perfect place for him to train. He concentrates on nothing but his training and I think the Manny Pacquiao you are going to see on November 23rd and going to be perhaps better than the Manny Pacquiao we saw against De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto,” stated Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who has high hopes that multi-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will look even more impressive than he has in the past when he faces former lightweight champion Brandon Rios on November 23. Regardless of the outcome, however, Arum already has plans to mix and match both fighters with any of the top welterweights and jr. welterweights in the Top Rank stable, including Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Ruslan Provodnikov.
“This is the last of the three fights, Manny vs. Rios, and a lot of it depends on who the winner of this fight will be. There are some fantastic matches that can be made next year with these fighters. Manny has unfinished business with Tim Bradley and that might be a good option if he beats Rios. If Rios wins, Ruslan Provodnikov or Bradley would be good opponents,” Arum explained during a recent conference call as he discussed the future options of both fighters should they come out victorious. “Provodnikov versus Manny, if Manny wins, would be an intriguing kind of fight. And of course there is a revenge match-up between Manny, if Manny wins, and Juan Manuel M?rquez, which would be very sellable with the Mexican-Americans that are still heavily in Marquez’s corner [and] that would like to see that fight again. So let’s see how this fight goes on November 23rd and then I’m sure everyone will sit down and we’ll work out who Manny and Brandon will fight next.”
