Eight division world champion and incumbent Philippine senator Manny Pacquiao might fight this coming April, according to the boxing icon's advisor Michel Koncz.
Koncz reached out to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and told him that Pacquiao is free and eager to fight in the second quarter of 2018.
"We are going to find him a date in April," Arum said in a report posted on Boxing Scene.
Pacquiao, who is now 39, had his last outing in July; he fought in a losing effort to Australian youngster Jeff Horn for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship at the Suncorp stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
The loss was controversial, and sparked an outrage across the boxing community. Many professional fighters expressed their disapproval of the decision.
There was a rematch clause, and Pacquiao initially wanted to get back at Horn to reclaim his title. However, his responsibilities as a senator prevented the bout from happening.
Horn, having successfully defended his WBO belt against Gary Corcoran earlier this month, is now set to fight the mandatory challenger for the title, the undefeated Terrence "Bud" Crawford.
Bob Arum stated that Pacquiao wants an "Interesting" match and does not want to fight in the undercard. So, would Arum make changes to the title defense and allow the Pacman to invoke his rematch clause?
Such does not seem to be the case. In a recent interview with Michael Woods from Bad Left Hook, the Top Rank chief said the Horn–Crawford match will push through and they would have to find another opponent for Pacquiao.
"As we discussed last week in Brisbane, it's all set, it's contractual, Horn versus Terence Crawford," Arum said. He added, "And we have a meeting at my house, all the Top Rank executives, on Thursday, to lay out dates, prospective dates for Manny Pacquiao, who through adviser Michael Koncz said that he's wanting to fight in April."
