MANILA, Philippines – World champion Manny Pacquiao is expected to announce his next opponent during his 32nd birthday celebration in General Santos (GenSan) City on Friday.
Pacquiao, an 8-division champion who currently reigns as World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight and World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight king, has three potential opponents to choose from.
They are former welterweight champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley, lightweight champion WBO and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, and WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto.
Pacquiao has already met his promoter, Bob Arum, who brought along the proposals of the potential opponents.
Although the most logical opponent for the Filipino, according to most boxing analysts, is Marquez, Arum has indicated that Mosley has the strongest chance to fight Pacquiao.
Arum earlier said Marquez is asking for too much money, while Mosley is the most marketable among the three boxers.
“Marquez's proposal was so out of line for anything that he got before… I don't think Manny is going to pay any attention to it,” Arum said in an interview with FanHouse.com.
Berto has the least chance in the Pacquiao sweepstakes because he is largely unknown to common fight fans.
Pacquiao will celebrate his 32nd birthday in GenSan in a lavish party that will be attended by at least 1,500 guests.
Among the expected guests, aside from Arum, are his coach, Freddie Roach, Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez, and friends in politics and showbiz.
Fans and friends alike expect the Filipino boxer and Sarangani congressman to name his next opponent, whom he will face on May 7.
Pacquiao busy as a bee
The Filipino champion had a hectic schedule on the eve of his birthday.
According to ABS-CBN correspondent, Dyan Castillejo, Pacquiao attended several commitments in both GenSan and Sarangani province.
After being a guest of honor during the Distinguished Visitors’ Program of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Police Office 12 in GenSan, Pacquiao went straight to Malungon, Sarangani to open a coffee farm, which serves as a livelihood program for his constituents.
He then went to the Sarangani Capitol to sign an agreement between the provincial and municipal governments for their fight against human trafficking.
After the signing, he headed to a basketball game where he handed 18,000 volumes of books from SM Group of Companies to the local public libraries
