Larry Merchant of HBO is not hopeful of a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather – Boxing News
Larry Merchant, an analyst for HBO, believes a fight between Filipino Manny Pacquiao and American Floyd Mayweather is unlikely to happen.
“They're not talking about [Manny] Pacquiao next, and if it's not Pacquiao, there are two guys I'm thinking of. One would be Timothy Bradley, or Canelo Alvarez. Those are the two. If Canelo can win on Sept. 15 [against Josesito Lopez], then maybe his next
fight would be that huge event, against Mayweather,” said larry Merchant in a recent interview with ESPN.
Manny Pacquiao, who lost his WBO welterweight title to Timothy Bradley on June 9 this year, is eager to get a match against Mayweather or Bradley. Bob Arum, promoter for Pacquiao, insists the Filipino wants to claim a rematch against Bradley, since the fight
ended with a controversial split decision loss to Pacquiao.
On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather will be ending his 90-day jail sentence by the end of August. Rumours of Mayweather retiring are already surfacing, as the unbeaten American has lost his muscle tone during his jail tenure.
Mayweather’s recent update came through his lawyer, suggesting the WBC welterweight titlist might hang up his gloves after being released from detention. According to Mayweather’s camp, the fighter has lost quite a lot of his muscle tone and he will need
sufficient time to recover it.
A bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather has always been in demand, but has never worked out. Both the fighters are too reluctant to go head to head with each other. Pacquiao has already indicated he wants to fight Mayweather before retiring, but the unbeaten
American is yet to choose his side.
For now, like previously, fans will have to wait for both of them to come to a conclusion. Pacquiao is scheduled to fight on November 10 and Mayweather will not be ready by then. Therefore, the Filipino is looking forward to take on Timothy Bradley once
again, to get his title back.
Arum knows a bout between Pacquiao and Mayweather will be a huge seller, and so he is trying to push it. However, it seems like both the boxing superstars are yet not ready for the clash.
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