Arum sets Pacquiao's ring return in November

Win or lose in his second political fight, Manny Pacquiao’s much awaited ring return is scheduled seven months from now. And his opponent could be anyone among Floyd Mayweather Jr., Antonio Margarito or whoever wants a piece of the seven division world champion. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum, of Top Rank Promotions, made the announcement on Monday as he personally witnessed the election in the province of Sarangani, where Pacquiao is seeking a congressional seat. “Regardless of what happens, if he wins or loses, we’re still planning on November," Arum told reporters in General Santos City, the Pacman’s hometown, where he has been based since arriving in the country last week to support the Filipino boxing icon. The 78-year old boxing promoter has been vocal about Mayweather being their top preference as Pacquiao’s next foe. But in the event negotiations fell apart again the same way it did the first time, then they may have to look for other options, Arum said. “If the Mayweather bout doesn’t come off, Pacquiao will probably face Mexican Antonio Margarito, or somebody else," Arum said. Margarito has been on a comeback trail following a one-year suspension for an illegal hand wraps in a 9th round technical knockout loss against “Sugar" Shane Mosley last year. The Mexican won his first fight after a 15-month layoff last Saturday, a unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in Aguascalientes, Mexico. A possible Pacquiao-Margarito bout would also be easier to arrange as both fighters are under Top Rank. But discussing a Pacquiao-Margarito showdown is going way ahead of the story. Arum vows to do all means to get the fight, a blockbuster showdown with the current and former holder of the mythical pound-for-pound title, the world is awaiting. “The one thing he wants, that I want and all of us want, is to do this fight," Arum said. “I hope when we sit with the Mayweather people, that they have a similar sense of where we are." Dispute in overseeing the drug protocol to be made on both fighters led to the collapse of a previous negotiation between the two parties. In his last fight against Mosley, Mayweather insisted that no fight will happen not unless the Filipino seven-time world champion undergoes Olympic style urine and blood testing. But Arum said the blame should be put on Mayweather if and when, the match projected to be the richest in boxing history, doesn’t push through. “If the “biggest boxing fight of all time doesn’t eventuate, it will be because of Mayweather, not Pacquiao," said the Top Rank boss. – GMANews.TV