Manny Pacquiao’s potential opponents after his date with Brandon Rios on Nov. 23 as bared in the shortlist by promoter Bob Arum following his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, has not changed substantially due to lack of worthy and viable opponents. The shortlist could still include Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Outside of these three potential foes, no one else is being mentioned by the Pacquiao camp for possible inclusion in a new list except Mike Alvarado, who snatched Rios WBO light welterweight title last March via a unanimous decision. If Pacquiao gets past Rios in November, he will most likely face the winner of Marquez-Bradley fight which is scheduled for October 12 at the Thomas and Mack in Las Vegas, Nevada. Whoever wins in the Marquez-Bradley fight will join Mayweather in the new shortlist which would likely include Mike Alvarado. Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, Alvarado and Marquez, will have no problem insofar as contracts negotiations are concerned since they are all fighting under his own Top Rank Promotions. Most likely, the problem will arise if Mayweather decides to join the Pacquiao sweepstakes along with the winner of Marquez-Bradley fight with Mike Alvarado as the third candidate. Mayweather, who runs his own Mayweather Promotions company in collaboration with Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, has been making Arum’s life miserable during several failed negotiations in the past due to disagreement on a number of issues including drug testing and purse splits. Critics say, the long-awaited Pacquiao-Mayweather fight will only be possible if Arum, Mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya resolve to end their long-running feud for the good of the sport. Other than Pacquiao, Marquez, Bradley, Mike Alvarado, Top Rank’s list of welterweight fighters includes Jessie Vargas, Mike Jones, Carlos Abregu, Oyemale Omotoso, Karim Mayfield, and Terence Crawford. Unless Arum starts entertaining welterweight fighters from rival Golden Boy Promotions, he can only match Pacquiao with the names in the shortlist. The other aspiring welterweight fighters including Vargas, Jones and Abregu who also have good credentials, may not be financially viable at this time of their careers.
