Arum sees Campbell as next foe after Diaz

This early, Bob Arum is looking at Nate Campbell as Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent after David Diaz.

According to an article that came out of the sweetscience.com, the Top Rank president wants Pacquiao, his top fighter, to face Campbell should he beat Diaz on June 28 in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao took the WBC super-featherweight (130 lbs) title from Juan Manuel Marquez last month, but has decided to challenge Diaz, the WBC lightweight (135 lbs) champion, next.

“If he beats Diaz and wins a fourth world title then we’ll decide who he fights next. He has a plethora of options and opponents to choose from,” said Arum, adding that it may happen in Macau by the end of the year.

If he beats Diaz, Pacquiao will have 15 days to decide on which title to hold on to – whether it’s the super-featherweight or lightweight crown. He also has a long line of opponents to choose from.

“The most important direction for Manny to go is to build on his legacy,’’ added Arum, who likes the idea of pitting Pacquiao against Campbell, the WBO, IBF and WBA lightweight champion.

Campbell, a 36-year-old native of Tampa, Florida with a ring record of 32 wins, five losses, a draw with 25 knockouts, took all three crowns by beating Juan Diaz on points last March 8.

“He could fight Nate Campbell to unify the lightweight title. He may want to fight (Edwin) Valero, since Valero got licensed in Texas we could do that fight in Macau,” Arum said.

Valero, the knockout specialist from Venezuela, has been taunting Pacquiao to a fight, and vowed to add the Filipino to his growing list of victims, all 23 of them by knockout.  – Abac Cordero