The only thing certain right now is that Manny Pacquiao will fight for the last time in April 2016 before he ventures off to the political world.
Until yesterday, there had been three names in the mix — Amir Khan, Terence Crawford, and Timothy Bradley Jr. A fourth name in the mix was Floyd Mayweather Jr. but for the umpteenth time, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that no negotiations were in play with the retired American boxer.
The latest update on whom the Filipino boxing icon would face seems to have been whittled down to two — Khan or Crawford. Khan was the frontrunner before Crawford showcased an impressive performance in dismantling Dierry Jean.
Right now, it seems like a toss-up between the two, even though Khan has time and again expressed confidence that he will be Pacquiao's final opponent before the eight-time division champ hangs up his gloves for good.
Khan is pretty much familiar with Pacquiao, although there are some who believe that he is not a hard-hitter who could give Pacquiao problems.
The case is different though with Crawford who is looking for his first big name fight. With that said, both fighters bring in a good case, although the final decision still remains with the Filipino boxing champion.
So does this mean that Timothy Bradley Jr. is out of the running?
Bradley is set to face Brandon Rios this weekend in Las Vegas and previous reports revealed that Pacquiao and company will be closely watching.
A decision on who Pacquiao would fight will most likely be announced after that bout. However, with Bradley out of the equation (per Arum), the Filipino's final opponent could have more or less been decided on.
A third encounter between Pacquiao and Bradley may not necessarily be appealing with both fighters holding one win each. But the thing is the first fight was controversial while the second was a walk in the park for Pacquiao.
