Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement in April but there is still a growing belief the Filipino boxing icon will eventually return to action. In fact, Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum has already reserved a fight date and named possible opponents for the former pound-for-pound king.
Arum told Las Vegas Review Journal that he booked a potential fight for Pacquiao on Oct. 15 despite the boxing superstar's busy schedule as a politician in the Philippines. The Hall of Famer then revealed that they are considering a showdown with Adrien Broner or Danny Garcia.
Garcia, who owns a perfect 32-0 record with 18 knockout victories, is being mentioned in numerous boxing rumors. It is not surprising, though, after the Philadelphia native took the World Boxing Council welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory against Robert Guerrero in January.
Broner, on the other hand, is also looking for a big-money fight following his ninth-round knockout victory over Ashley Theophane in April. The Ohio native has made it no secret that he is open to facing Pacquiao, who retired after winning over Timothy Bradley in April.
Garcia and Broner are willing to collide with Pacquiao but both fighters are under influential adviser Al Haymon. However, Arum insisted that it will not be a problem because he is will to sit down with Haymon to discuss a blockbuster showdown, especially after settling a recent 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?"
The Pacquiao-Broner fight has been gaining a lot of steam over the past several days. Talks about the showdown intensified after Golden Boy Promotions senior vice president Eric Gomez made an intriguing claim. Gomez said that sources told him that the Pacquiao-Broner bout is already set in stone.
"I do have it under good authority that [Pacquiao] is fighting Broner in an October pay-per-view," Gomez told BoxingScene. "So he's going to be fighting a month after Canelo because he has September."
Pacquiao, who owns a 58-6-2 with 38 knockout victories, is now a Senator in the Philippines. The 37-year-old previously said that he will not fight again if he wins a Senate seat in his country. But Arum is not ready to raise the white flag yet, hoping that Pacquiao will cash in one more time.
Watch Manny Pacquiao's best knockouts below.