Promoter has October date saved for possible Manny Pacquiao return

Manny Pacquiao is still retired from boxing, but his promoter already has a plan in the works in case the Filipino fighter decides to come back.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told the Review-Journal he has Oct. 15 saved for a potential Pacquiao return and also has a list of possible opponents. Arum named rising star Terence Crawford, WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia and the flamboyant Adrien Broner as candidates to meet the future hall of famer.

Pacquiao, who was recently sworn into the Philippine senate, is expected to meet with Arum in the upcoming weeks to discuss his future in the ring.

“Do I know whether Pacquiao is going to fight again? No. I do know Pacquiao would like to fight again, that I know for sure,” Arum said. “But the question is he’s not going to fight again if it really affects his work at the Senate.”

Arum didn’t want to wait on an official confirmation from Pacquiao since dates have been quickly filling up for fights in Las Vegas this fall. Arum is looking at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Pacquiao’s favorite venue.

Earlier this week, the Nevada Athletic Commission approved Golden Boy Promotions to host a fight at T-Mobile Arena on Sept. 17, which is expected to be Saul “Canelo” Alvarez versus Liam Smith. Main Events and Roc Nation Sports were granted the rights to have the light heavyweight championship showdown between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 19.

Having Pacquiao face Crawford would be easy to make since they both fight for Top Rank. Garcia and Broner are with Al Haymon and Premier Boxing Champions.

Arum and Haymon have had legal battles over the years and rarely work together. Last month, Top Rank and the PBC settled a $100 million lawsuit.

“I’ll work with (Haymon) in a sense that we’re gonna put animosity aside because it’s stupid,” Arum said. “Now that we settled lawsuits, if we have a fighter that fights in something that he wants to do and it fits, why not? It’s stupid not to.”

Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez told BoxingScene on Thursday that Arum already had a deal for Broner to fight Pacquiao when the two discussed a possible Alvarez-Pacquiao match.

Arum denied the claim and said he hasn’t spoken to anyone at Golden Boy about an Alvarez-Pacquiao fight.

Pacquiao last fought in April, defeating Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden.

NEBRASKA TO INVADE LAS VEGAS

Before Crawford can think about facing Pacquiao, he’ll need to get by the dangerous Viktor Postol at the MGM Grand Garden on July 23.

Crawford is arguably boxing’s next superstar, but he’s not yet widely known outside his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Putting Crawford at the MGM and on an HBO pay-per-view fight is a big gamble for Arum. The Top Rank promoter expects Nebraskans to help fill up the arena.

Arums said he expects 3,000 to 4,000 Crawford fans from Nebraska to attend the fight. He also is optimistic that a large number of locals will attend since ticket prices are cheaper than the usual PPV fights on the Strip.

“This is a big, competitive fight,” Arum said. “We’re not sure how the pay-per-view sales will do, but we feel good about the attendance. It’s a very compelling fight.”

MATINEE HEAVYWEIGHT MATCH

Boxing fans are in for a treat Saturday.

There will be a matinee fight televised on Showtime at 2 p.m. between Anthony Joshua and Dominic Breazeale for the IBF heavyweight title at the O2 Arena in London.

England’s Joshua is considered the next big thing in the heavyweight division and will make his first title defense against Southern California’s Breazeale. Joshua is a heavy minus-2,500 favorite, according to VegasInsider.com.

After the conclusion of the daytime match, fight fans can flip over to CBS for Shawn Porter-Keith Thurman at 6 p.m.

FURY-KLITSCHKO MATCH POSTPONED

Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury postponed his rematch against Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.

Fury said on his Instagram account that he injured his ankle during a run about 10 days ago. The British boxer said he tried training on the sprained ankle and was advised to not go ahead with the July 9 bout.

Last November, Fury shook up the heavyweight division by handing Klitschko his first loss in over a decade.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24