After suffering a controversial defeat in July last year, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is likely to make a comeback this coming April.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he’s planning to include Pacquiao in the same card that will feature a WBO welterweight title showdown between champion Jeff Horn and Terence Crawford.
Arum, however, presented two main issues that are yet to be resolved: Pacquiao’s opponent and the availability of the venue.
“We’re working on an opponent. Don’t want to be too premature about that, but we’re working on it as we speak. Pacquiao seems like he wants to come back, so we’re trying to get that finalized,” Arum said.
Pacquiao has not been in the ring since losing his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight title to Horn in their match last July in Brisbane.
This April, it is Horn’s turn to defend his WBO Welterweight title from Crawford. The bout will be televised by ESPN.
It remains unclear, however, if Pacquiao will participate in the main event or as undercard. The last time Pacquiao fought in the undercard was in 2005, when knocked out Hector Velasquez in Los Angeles. The event was then headlined by the match between Eric Morales and Zahir Raheem.
“ESPN has a way to solve (the main event issue), so it will be very interesting when we announce it,” Arum said.
As for the venue, Arum remarked that he wanted the match to be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 21 but can’t confirm yet because the place might be used by the Golden Knights team for the NHL playoffs, slated to begin April 11.
If failed to get an approval for the T-Mobile Arena, Arum said the bout could be held at New York’s Madison Square Garden on April 14.
“Unless they can get some clearance from the league, we can’t do it in Las Vegas because none of the other arenas are available and we would have to do it somewhere else,” Arum said. (Dana Sioson/AJPress)
