With Juan Manuel Marquez or even Marco Antonio Barrera temporarily fading out of the picture, a few more names have been added to the list of fighters either chasing or dreaming of a lucrative fight with Manny Pacquiao later this year.
Pacquiao, according to his Canadian adviser Mike Koncz, has declined the position of mandatory challenger to Marquez, the reigning WBC super-featherweight champion, in a move that could lead to a Marquez-Barrera rematch by September.
If that happens, Pacquiao will be left with no other choice but face an opponent outside of Mexico’s 1-2 punch, and hope that he makes as much money as he made in his previous wins against Erik Morales, Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis.
Still on top of the list is WBO super-featherweight champion Joan Guzman from the Dominican Republic, followed by WBA titlist Edwin Valero of Venezuela and the fast-rising Humberto Soto of Mexico, Pacquiao’s stablemate at Top Rank.
A fight against any of these three boxers won’t be easy. And Pacquiao knows this.
“There are many boxers out there wanting to face me. So, I’m not in a hurry to choose my next opponent,” said Pacquiao. Wednesday’s decision to let go of Marquez came just days after he said a fight with either Marquez or Barrera remained possible.
New names that have cropped up as possible opponent for Pacquiao are IBF junior lightweight champion Mzonke Fana (26-3 with 9 KOs) from South Africa, WBA featherweight champion Chris John (39-0-1 with 20 KOs) of Indonesia and Joel Casamayor (34-3-1 with 21 KOs) of Cuba, a lightweight who may agree to a catch weight with Pacquiao.
Then comes Roberto Guerrero, the reigning IBF featherweight champion from the US. Nicknamed “The Ghost,” he recently told boxingtalk.com of his eagerness to face Pacquiao at 130 lbs.
“The fight I want right now is Manny Pacquiao. I don’t want to fight him when he is not in his prime, when people will say I beat him past his best. I want to fight him in his prime,” said the 5-foot-8 boxer now being handled by Pacquiao’s ex-manager Shelly Finkel.
Guerrero, who’s also been under Freddie Roach and Justin Fortune (Pacquiao’s estranged trainers), said he’d seen flaws in Pacquiao’s style.
“Pacquiao is an explosive fighter that hits extremely hard. But he can only come forward. I have a solid jab. My left hand is solid. If you watch the first (Erik) Morales fight, you see he (Pacquiao) had trouble with his boxing style. Morales just did not have enough juice in the next few fights.
“Guys are too worried getting knocked out by Manny, so they don’t stick to their game plan. I would box him, keep turning him and I would keep him at range. I have faced five southpaws already. Juan Manuel Marquez underestimated Pacquiao, and that is something I wouldn’t do.”
If ever he gets to fight Pacquiao.
