Manny Pacquiao's Next Fight: Ranking the Best Potential Opponents
Gentlemen (and ladies), start your conjecture.
As is the case for nearly every fighter on the pay-per-view level these days, no sooner had the sweat been wiped from Manny Pacquiao's brow after Saturday night's victory over Chris Algieri than opinions were already being revved up when it comes to who might, should or could be next on the victim list.
The Filipino's six-knockdown unanimous decision of the previously unbeaten 140-pound titleholder was the first defense of his second reign as WBO welterweight champion and his third straight win since a KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in December of 2012 that had immediately struck many as perhaps career-ending.
Pacquiao was asked the familiar Floyd Mayweather Jr. question by HBO's Max Kellerman in the ring following the dispatch of Algieri, and he changed only slightly from his typical mantra that defers to promoter Bob Arum for those sorts of behind-the-scenes decisions.
"He's going to fight me? Yes, yes," he said with a giggle, drawing a loud cheer from the partisan crowd and a smile from Kellerman. "I'm ready to fight. I'm ready to fight next year for him."
Given the lack of concrete direction provided in the immediate aftermath, we've given the tea leaves a quick read and come up with this list of five. Click through to see what we've come up with, and feel free to critique our choices and select some of your own in the comments section.
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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Bob Arum talks about it when he wants to generate headlines.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. talks about it when he wants to irritate media members.
Because of those elements and others, no one will ever be able to write a "next fight" piece about Manny Pacquiao without at least suggesting the possibility that a Mayweather match can get made.
The parties have spoken more positively about it in calendar 2014 than in any five years combined before that, so who knows what surprises 2015 might have for everyone?
But our advice is simple: Until you actually see them gloved-up and in a ring together, don't buy it.
4. Diego Chaves
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We're not exactly sold that a Pacquiao match with Diego Chaves is anything people are thinking about, or anything they'd really want if they did stop to ponder the idea.
In fact, the rugged Argentine is known far better for his two losses than his 23 wins, with the L's coming in a slugfest against unbeaten welterweight contender Keith Thurman (KO 10) and a foul-fest against veteran former lightweight titleholder and Pacquiao victim Brandon Rios (DQ 9).
But he's got a fight with Timothy Bradley coming up next month in Las Vegas, and if he's finally able to get over the high-profile hump with a defeat of a guy who's split two fights with Manny, his stock goes up.
Don't buy a plane ticket or reserve a hotel room expecting it to happen, but if Chaves does wind up a winner in December, you might want to have the credit card handy.
3. Juan Manuel Marquez
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At this point, it's like Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez are safety opponents.
You can almost imagine the conversation going something like, "If you don't get a good fight lined up for yourself in the first half of 2015, we'll meet in Las Vegas and get together as foes again."
Thing is, as silly as that might sound, it's still a viable idea.
The sudden and violent end to encounter No. 4 in December of 2012 certainly makes a fifth go-round intriguing, because it was easily the most decisive result of the quartet so far, and both guys can still have a case made for them as top-10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
The Algieri date probably could have been Marquez's had he wanted it, and for as long as he continues in the ring—he turned 41 years old in August—he'll always be just a single phone call away from renewing the modern generation's most old-school fight rivalry.
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2. Danny Garcia
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When it comes to Pacquiao, Mayweather is clearly the fight most would want to see.
But if there's an option 1A coming up on the outside, it could be Danny Garcia.
The recent thawing of a prolonged promotional "Cold War" between Arum and Oscar De La Hoya has put a number of fights on the table that hadn't been there before. Combine that with Pacquiao's apparent willingness to step down a more comfortable 140-pound weight class, and the floodgates open.
No fighter at 140 pounds has done more over the last handful of years than Garcia, who's racked up a pair of sanctioning body title belts while beating big names like Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse and Erik Morales.
He rode sidesaddle on Mayweather's pay-per-view show with Canelo Alvarez last year and handled the spotlight well, and he's got a talkative father who'd no doubt love to get the full-on complement of 24/7 microphones that'd presumably accompany an HBO broadcast with the Filipino.
If you're a fan of both boxing and Santa Claus, this is the fight to scribble onto your 2015 wish list.
1. Jessie Vargas
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Of course, when it comes to Santa, sometimes you get a big TV and sometimes you get socks.
Though he's a good young fighter with an unbeaten record and a shiny, albeit meaningless, title belt flung across his shoulder, Top Rank prospect Jessie Vargas isn't anyone's idea of a PPV dream date.
Still, he's the name that Arum has been flinging around with frequency in recent months, and it stands to reason that a slot alongside Pacquiao on Saturday's show from China could serve as the warm-up to a match between the two promotional stablemates come the springtime in Nevada.
It'd suit Pacquiao in his aforementioned strategy of moving down to face less-menacing foes at a more comfortable weight, and it'd be far easier for Arum to get the fight made because he'd not have to go outside the Top Rank offices to deal with guys like Al Haymon.
Vargas, who's got a new high-profile trainer in Roy Jones Jr., is predictably interested in being a superstar's foil, too. He conceded to the Las Vegas Review-Journal heading into Saturday's grinding defeat of ex-lightweight belt-holder Antonio DeMarco to having dreamed about the idea of facing the Filipino.
""I’m living the real American dream. My family comes from Mexico. My parents had to work two jobs to support my boxing since I was 8 years old. I was never given anything easy. I’ve had to work hard for everything I have. I think my story would sell to the public. I’m an action fighter who gives a great performance every time I’m in the ring. I would love the opportunity to face Manny.”
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