Top Rank Says Manny Pacquiao Will Fight December 8

Manny Pacquiao has settled on a date for his next fight according to a report from ESPN.com. Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank made a formal request to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the date of December 8.

"

"As is the customary procedure for working with the NSAC, we requested the date from them," Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. "The potential matchups are all being discussed with Manny and his team, and we anticipate the process to be completed in a timely fashion for all involved."

"

This is good news for fight fans as at least a date has finally been settled on. Now the next step is to find an opponent for the Filipino slugger. 

We know that Miguel Cotto will not be the opponent since he has recently agreed to face Austin Trout for his WBA Jr. middleweight title on Dec. 1, at Madison Square Garden. 

Tim Bradley—who beat Pacquiao by a highly controversial decision earlier this year—is a possible opponent, but their matchup didn’t do huge pay-per-view numbers. 

The most likely scenario is that Pacquiao will square with Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time. Each of their previous contests have been highly competitive and all have ended with controversy.

I doubt that there is any chance at all he will be facing Floyd Mayweather. 

According to the report, Pacquiao's manager Michael Koncz says they will have an opponent named by the end of the week. We have heard this sort of thing from the Pacquiao camp in the past so I would take that with a grain of salt. But it appears they are making progress by figuring out a date.