Contrary to speculations that Freddie Roach does not want Manny Pacquiao to fight WBC and WBO super light welterweight champion Terence Crawford for his next bout, the world-class trainer recently stated that if Floyd Mayweather Jr. decides not to fight the Filipino boxing icon for the second time, Crawford is the next best option.
Roach said that Crawford could be the next opponent for Manny Pacquiao at 147 pounds. While Top Rank boss Bob Arum mentioned that WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko could be the next bout for Pacman, Roach does not see the fight happening anytime soon, more so next year.
Accordingly, Lomachenko wants an entire year to prepare to fight Pacquiao and Roach believes that it is just a polite way of saying he does not want to fight the eight-division world champion boxer, reports Boxing News 24.
There are also reports saying that Lomachenko wants to fight Pacquiao at 130 pounds which would be a tough ordeal for the Filipino boxing champion, who is now fighting at the 147-pound level.
The future Hall-of-Famer trainer said that Terence Crawford is the next best option for Pacquiao, especially if Floyd Mayweather Jr. decides not to stake his 49-0 boxing record anymore.
Roach is also open to the idea of Pacquiao getting a fight against WBO junior middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez but he wants a rehydration limit to keep the power-punching Mexican fighter from putting on a lot of weight after the weigh-in.
He explained that Canelo rehydrates to light heavyweight after he rehydrates for his fights, which means the boxer can easily go from 169 pounds to 175 pounds. Roach believes that Pacquiao would have difficulty overcoming Canelo if the Mexican rehydrates to 175 pounds.
The best chance
The world-class trainer explained that Crawford has the best chance of getting a crack at Pacquiao.
Other fighters who were reported to be considered for the Pacman after his convincing victory over Jessie Vargas early last month to reclaim the WBO welterweight champion belt are Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman.
But as it is, only the names of Mayweather, Crawford, and Lomachenko remain as of this time.
It has been reported that the 37-year-old Manny Pacquiao wants to have two more fights before he finally retires for good and just concentrate on being a Senator in the Republic of the Philippines.
Scared of Crawford?
The trainer of Crawford believes that Freddie Roach does not want Manny Pacquiao to fight his ward because of the dreaded punching power of the 29-year-old WBO and WBC light welterweight champion.
Brian McIntyre recalled that Pacquiao’s camp passed up on fighting Crawford and instead picked a third fight with Timothy Bradley early this year, details the Philippine Star.
McIntyre said that as soon as Crawford beats sparmate Victor Postol, the first thing that reportedly came out of the mouths of those in Pacquiao’s camp is that they are not going to fight him.
But as revealed by Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao is not afraid to face anybody in the ring as he has shown previously in fighting bigger guys like Oscar Dela Hoya, Antonio Margarito, and Shane Mosley.
Crawford will have to prove himself first this coming weekend as he defends his two titles against John Molina Jr.
Once he takes care of Molina, Crawford could then set the stage for a possible fight with Pacquiao sometime next year. It is clear that Crawford needs Pacquiao more than Pacquiao needs him since the WBO and WBC light welterweight champion wants to legitimize his superstardom in boxing.
When Pacquiao defeated Vargas to wrest the WBO welterweight championship after a brief retirement, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was actually watching at ringside.