Manny Pacquiao will likely return to action in November despite announcing his retirement earlier this year. Former world champion Adrien Broner could still get a shot at the former pound-for-pound king.
However, Broner should give a much lower demand instead of asking for a 50-50 split. At this point, the proposed fight is dead because the Ohio native priced himself out of the fight.
But according to Top Rank Promotions CEO, Al Haymon really wants the fight to happen. "It seemed to me Al wanted to make the fight very much," the veteran promoter said via BoxingScene.
Arum added that he had several discussions with his rival, where Haymon expressed strong interest in making the fight happen this year. However, Broner remained firm on his financial demands, which was too high for Arum to accept. This forced Arum and his camp to look for other options for Pacquiao's next fight.
Pacquiao announced his retirement in April after scoring a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley. The Filipino boxing icon said that he wanted to focus on his political career. After getting elected as senator in the Philippines, a comeback fight became more unlikely, but Arum recently revealed the eight-division champion will return this year.
Arum told Los Angeles Times that Pacquiao will fight again on November 5. The 37-year-old superstar will face the winner of the upcoming bout between Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol. But if Pacquiao declines to move down to 140 pounds, Arum said they will consider World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Jessie Vargas.
"A lot of it depends on if Manny wants to go down to 140," Arum said. "If he decides to go to 140 and Crawford wins, that could be the fight, but if he says no, says, 'Because of the Senate, I'm not going to be able to get down to 140 comfortably,' then he'll fight against Vargas."
Pacquiao, who owns a 58-6-2 record with 38 knockout victories, is also being linked to a showdown with reigning World Boxing Council welterweight champion Danny Garcia. However, Arum insisted that Garcia is not option, reiterating that no one has talked to him about the possible title fight.
Watch Pacquiao's career highlights below.