Manny Pacquiao will not take on a easy opponent as his comeback fight (Photo : REUTERS)
Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach announced that his fighter will return against a tough opponent after he recovers from shoulder surgery.
Roach said that the comeback fight will approximately be eight months from now.
Bob Arum mentioned Lucas Matthysse (37-3, 34KO) and IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (35-0, 24 KOs) as possibilities and has previously mentioned Terence Crawford's (26-0, 18 KOs) if Floyd Mayweather Jr. doesn't do a rematch with Pacquiao.
Roach also ponders whether a rematch with Floyd mayweather could be possible.
Furthermore, since Pacquiao is a small welterweight, Roach said he could return to the junior welterweight division, where Crawford and Matthysse are mainstays.
Freddie Roach says he wants Manny to "go back into the deep water" preparing for his next fight.
Roach said that he thinks Pacquiao has got a couple of fights left in him, noting that his fighter is still having a lot of fun with boxing.
Matthysse is brawler and could fit the bill as to what the Pacquiao camp sees as an ideal opponent.
Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya has also been pushing for Matthysse to fight the winner of Mayweather-Pacquaio.
However, De La Hoya has been pursuing a Pacquiao-Matthysse matchup even after the Filipino lost to Mayweather.
Meanwhile, Crawford is a slick boxer that moves around a lot.
Observers says that Brook could be the toughest in the list since he is a strong welterweight and does everything pretty well. Promoter Eddie Hearn says that as long as Brook is unbeaten, he will be considered as Pacquiao's first opponent in his comeback.
Brook is slated to fight Brandon Rios in September.
Hearn added that Brook could smash Pacquiao to bits being the younger and fresher, whereas he feels that the Filipino is past his prime.
