The last time Top Rank boss Bob Arum talked about several possible opponents for his star attraction Manny Pacquiao to fight, the names mentioned were Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto.
By the end of this year, Pacquiao will have fought two of the three, with Berto instead losing to Victor Ortiz.
Mosley he beat easily, and may even have retired. Marquez he is expected to beat easily given his improvements and the lightweight king's decline since they last fought.
If that happens Pacquiao's detractors will no doubt say that he took two easy fights this year, both against much older opponents.
If he doesn't blow through Marquez, he will receive criticism for not beating the Mexican as easily as main rival Floyd Mayweather did.
Pacquiao may essentially find himself under fire regardless of how his fight with Marquez goes.
Looking forward to 2012 though, and Arum's list of possible opponents on paper at least looks a lot more challenging, and yesterday got longer.
Breaking in his brand new twitter account, Arum wrote that undefeated Mike Jones is being added to the list of possibly Pacquiao opponents for next year.
Probably at the top of the list is soon to be free agent Tim Bradley, who is being tipped to sign with Top Rank as soon as his contract with Gary Shaw expires.
Bradley has shown in the past that he isn't adverse to moving up in weight and with a unification bout with Amir Khan possibly off the table if he signs with Top Rank, a big money fight with Pacquiao would make sense as it would also allow him to retain his titles at light welterweight.
Mike Jones, despite being the least well known name on the list, may, with a few more fights under his belt, become the most dangerous.
The Philly native is enormous for a welterweight, and that's enormous by the standards of natural welterweights, not fighters who have moved up several times as largely populate the upper echelons today. He boxes well, doesn't come forward as most of Pacquiao's recent opponents have, and obviously has height, reach and strength advantages that coupled with his power and ability to box could see him give Pacquiao a much harder time than most of his recent conquests.
Dependent on how they each do in their upcoming bouts, Zab Judah, Victor Ortiz and Kermit Cintron are all possibilities also, with Cintron being the most likely due to he and Pacquiao's shared promotional allegiance.
Of course the name most fans are eager to see but who is probably the least likely option is Floyd Mayweather, who faces Victor Ortiz in September. Since the second round of failed negotiations both sides have talked...and talked...and talked some more about the fight. Neither appears to have taken any real steps towards making it happen.
Clive Brent, Pitt: "Jones still needs a couple of big wins before he takes the next step, maybe Arum will have him fight a big name on the undercard of Pac-Marquez"
Source: http://www.examiner.com
