Manny Pacquiao was widely expected to announce his final opponent last Friday but no announcement of whatsoever happened.
Apparently, Pacquiao is not yet decided on whom to face with only two possible names now in the mix.
There were actually three names in consideration — Amir Khan, Terence Crawford, and Timothy Bradley Jr.
Khan has practically bowed out of that list with reports that Khan and manager Eddie Hearn have opted to focus their attention on Kell Brook as reported earlier by the Mirror.
So that means that the likely choice is down to either Crawford or Bradley Jr. Although it remains to be seen who between the two will get the nod, both fighters have their respective plan Bs as well.
Crawford has long mentioned that he is ready just in case he doesn't land the Pacquiao fight, lining up names that include Ruslan Provodnikov, Viktor Postol, and Lucas Matthysse via boxingscene.com.
Bradley, on the other hand, mentioned that while a third encounter with Pacquiao seems grand, he is more interested in facing Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto.
With all due respect to Pacquiao, Bradley feels that a fight with Cotto is more competitive and dangerous, as mentioned in a separate report via Boxingscene.com.
So as it stands, the final tiff for Pacquiao on April 9, 2016 only needs a name from the eight-time division champ. There will be no hard feelings of whoever gets passed up since the roadmap for their respective plans for 2016 has already been laid out.
No reason has been divulged as of now on what the holdup is, although it is likely that Pacquiao's official opponent will be brought out in the open by early 2016.
The April fight is Pacquiao's last dance in the boxing ring as he ventures into the world of politics which is expected to eat up majority of his time. On whether that retirement claim sticks or not remains to be seen.
