Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum would like to see how Terence Crawford looks this weekend before deciding if the undeefated American fighter is a mouth-watering opponent for Manny Pacquiao next year.
“We’ll see how Terence looks this week,” Arum told the Bulletin yesterday afternoon from Auckland, New Zealand, where his promotional outfit Top Rank has a show.
Crawford (29-0 with 20 KOs) meets John Molina Jr. in a defense of the world junior-welterweight crown in his hometown of Omaha in Nebraska with a victory boosting his stock as prime candidate for Fighter of the Year (2016) honors.
While the choice of foe remains hanging in the balance, Arum makes it clear that the working date for Pacquiao’s return to the ring is April.
Pacquiao, who turns 38 on Dec. 17, fought twice this year, both taking place in Las Vegas, where he had fought almost exclusively since 2001.
In April, Pacquiao easily outpointed Tim Bradley at the MGM Grand and last month, the fighting senator scored a similar trouble-free victory over Jessie Vargas at the Thomas and Mack Center.
While Crawford continues to float as a candidate, Pacquiao’s sights is trained on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, assuming, of course, the brash Mayweather comes out of retirement.
During the Vargas fight, Mayweather pulled off a shocker when he sat at ringside and exchanged meaningful looks with Pacquiao.
