To date, there is no word on whom Manny Pacquiao will officially face, although there are rumors saying that Terence Crawford has the inside track.
That, of course, could be another big blow for Amir Khan who had already been shunned earlier in the year by another iconic boxer, the now retired Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather opted to go with Andre Berto instead of Khan, who was also initially widely rumored to be the undefeated American boxer's final opponent.
And now, it could be déjà vu for the British southpaw if Crawford gets the nod.
Right now, the choice seems to have boiled down to Crawford and Khan, although it is believed that Timothy Bradley Jr. mustered enough to make it a triumvirate.
Bradley is coming off an impressive ninth round total knockout (TKO) win over Brandon Rios last weekend.
While that remains to be settled, there is one person who wants to see a Pacquiao vs. Khan fight happen in April 2016 – retired referee Joe Cortez.
Cortez retired in 2013 and has since served as an analyst for ESPN. He believes that Khan deserves a shot at Pacquiao, even though based on an interview via On the Ropes boxing, he believes that Pacquiao will still come out victorious, assuming that he is 100% healthy.
He, however, cautions that Pacquiao cannot take Khan lightly because he is young and hungry. He adds that Pacquiao may not be that hungry anymore but has a lot of pride to simply bow to any fighter at this point.
On Mayweather, he believes that the boxer will return at some point once he realizes he has the opportunity to shatter the 49–0 deadlock with Rocky Marciano. But that fight won't be against Pacquiao.
He believes it will either be Khan or the winner between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez, a fight that will take place on Nov. 21.
He also shoots down a possible match involving Mayweather and Gennady Golovkin, pointing out the catch weight of 150 pounds. Triple G is a full-fledged middleweight and fights at 154 pounds.
