By Nick Giongco
Despite reports saying that Manny Pacquiao has medical issues, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is travelling to Manila early next month to discuss with the Filipino legend two possible fights.
Obviously unaffected by Pacquiao’s condition, Arum told the Bulletin that Top Rank mainstays Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko are attractive matchups.
Pacquiao, fresh from stopping Argentine Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia, his first abbreviated win in nine years, said he is eyeing a return to the ring in late-November or early-December and mentioned that Crawford and Lomachenko as candidates to be his dancing partner.
But there are other options for the 39-year-old Pacquiao, who likewise raised the possibility of facing Amir Khan of England.
As to Pacquiao’s heart problems, Arum feels it is being blown out of proportion, stressing that he has had many encounters with similar incidents in his 52 years of promoting in the fight game.
“When (Sugar Ray) Leonard fought (Roberto) Duran in 1989 in Montreal, Duran had the same thing and he was allowed to fight,” said Arum, who promoted that welterweight superfight that Duran won.
“If it were really serious, he wouldn’t have been allowed to fight (by the doctors),” added Arum.
A week before the Matthysse fight in Kuala Lumpur, Pacquiao had to be examined at Cardinal Santos Hospital and a team of specialists even advised him initially not to proceed.
Still, Pacquiao insisted on pushing through with the fight that he dominated from start to finish, signing a waiver in the process even if the team had agreed that it was such a minor condition that it won’t affect his performance.
