MANILA, Philippines - Habang namamayagpag si Manny Pacquiao at patuloy na kinikilalang ‘pound-for-pound king’, ang Filipino boxing superstar pa rin ang pipili kung sino ang gusto niyang makalaban.
Ito ang inihayag kahapon ni American trainer Freddie Roach sa panayam ng Fighthype.com. hinggil sa maaaring makasagupa ni “Pacman” bago matapos ang 2009.
Kabilang sa mga sinasabing posibleng makatagpo ng 30-anyos na world five-division champion ay sina Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Sugar Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto at Juan Manuel Marquez.
Nakatakdang magharap sina Mayweather at Marquez para sa isang non-title light middleweight fight sa Hulyo 18 sa MGM Grand sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We’re not going to wait for this guy though,” wika ni Roach sa 32-anyos na si Mayweather. “If something else comes up for us; he chose to fight somebody else.”
Ayon sa 49-anyos na si Roach, si Pacquiao, tinalo na sina Marquez, David Diaz, Oscar Dela Hoya at Ricky Hatton, ang hari ngayon sa boxing scene.
“We’re the top dog right now. If he wants to make the kind of money he’s talking about, he has to fight Pacquiao because Pacquiao’s the draw right now, not Floyd Mayweather,” sabi ni Roach kay Mayweather.
Binigo na rin ni Mayweather sina Dela Hoya at Hatton upang tanghaling ‘pound-for-pound king’ bago nagretiro noong Hunyo ng 2008 at inagawan ni Pacquiao ng naturang rekognisyon.
“The hardest thing with Mayweather, he wants the 60-40 (percentage split) he’s talking about,” ani Roach. “Pacquiao’s the number one guy. 60-40 our way will work. 60-40 he’s way, it’s not happening.”
Samantala, sinabi naman ng Canadian adviser ni Pacquiao na si Mike Koncz na pawang tsismis lamang o propaganda ang sinasabing magiging laban ng Pinoy ring idol kina Mosley o Cotto. (Russell Cadayona)