Manny Pacquiao will fight again in November but it might not be against Terence Crawford. Crawford is currently considered Pacquiao's most likely opponent in his return bout.
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach hinted that Pacquiao could avoid facing Crawford later this year. The veteran trainer had a good glimpse at the reigning World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion earlier this month.
Roach trained Viktor Postol, who took a unanimous decision loss to Crawford in their title unification fight last Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Based on what he saw, Roach thinks Pacquiao should have a tune-up bout before facing Crawford.
"I don't think I'm going to accept that fight or want that fight right away," Roach told BoxingScene. "I mean give me one warm-up fight and give me a fight right after that and we can talk."
Roach admitted that he was impressed with Crawford despite previously expressing disappointment over the undefeated boxer's tendency to run a lot. The veteran boxing coach said that Crawford landed powerful punches, which stopped Postol on his tracks.
The 56-year-old trainer said that Crawford also moves very well inside the ring aside from being a good puncher. In fact, Roach said that Crawford is comparable to a young Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Roach knows that a fight against Crawford is the best fight available money-wise. However, he insisted that Pacquiao did not decide to come out of retirement just for the money.
As for Crawford, the undefeated welterweight champion has already expressed interest in facing Pacquiao. While he is planning to go on a vacation first, Crawford said that he will accept a fight against Pacquiao because he is ready to face any challenger in his next title defense.
"If Bob Arum wants that fight and my coaches want that fight, that's something we'll talk about later," Crawford told ESPN. "I let my coaches handle that. I am a fighter and I will fight anybody."
Crawford holds a perfect 29-0 record with 20 knockout victories. Pacquiao, on the other hand, has a 58-6-2 record with 38 knockout victories. The Filipino boxing icon has not fought since scoring a unanimous decision victory over Timothy Bradley in April.
Watch Crawford's career highlights below.