Manny Pacquiao camp floats Foreman fight
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Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is in the Philippines meeting with Manny Pacquiao to discuss terms of a proposed world title fight with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. this spring. But even before Arum’s plane landed, the Pacquiao camp was already pushing an alternative matchup with newly minted WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman.
Although Foreman (28-0) is the first Israeli boxer to win a world title, he is clearly not in Pacquiao’s league. So a fight between the seven-time world champion and the rabbinical student would hardly be compelling. But Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach is pushing a timeline that has his fighter meeting Foreman in March before taking on Mayweather in September. Mayweather, who has reportedly agreed in principle to fight Pacquiao this spring, would probably meet Shane Mosley in the interim if Pacquiao’s camp does not come to terms with his team at Golden Boy Promotions.
Which brings us to the real reason talk of a Foreman-Pacquiao bout has surfaced. Although a win by Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 knockouts) would give the Filipino a title in a record eighth weight class, a Foreman fight has been proposed primarily to give Pacquiao leverage in talks with Mayweather’s camp.
‘We might fight for the 154-pound title in March and move up for that eighth world title,’ Roach told BoxingScene.com. ‘I’m thinking about that still and it’s something that I’m kicking around in my head right now. Yuri Foreman might be the opponent. It is a possibility and then Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) in September. If they guarantee me that, we’ll do that. But I need more of a commitment from Mayweather because he’s not negotiating too well.’
-- Kevin Baxter
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