Fighters line up for crack at Pacman

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao is one fighter that will never run out of opponents to face inside the ring until the day he retires.

Back in the winner’s circle following two consecutive wins, the 35-year-old Pacquiao has people lined up or lining up before him.

Even before he defeated Tim Bradley in a rematch last April 12 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has a couple of names on hand.

Arum said there’s already been some form of an agreement that whoever won the recent rematch would fight the winner of the coming battle between Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado.

Pacquiao said he’s open to face either boxer but said the one fight he still wants to make is the one against Floyd Mayweather Jr., who will be up against Marcos Maidana on May 3.

Then Adrien Broner, the former three-division world champion from the United States, said a week ago he’d love to take on Pacquiao – at any weight.

Pacquiao is back as a world champion after he took the WBO welterweight crown back from Bradley.

Of course, there’s Russian beast Ruslan Provodnikov, another potential opponent for Pacquiao although that should be the final option.

Now there’s word that Arum and Golden Boy big boss Oscar dela Hoya are in touch for a possible showdown between Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez.

The 23-year-old Mexican is the former light-middleweight champion. He may be big for Pacquiao but Pacquiao has faced and beaten bigger opponents before.

“Anything’s possible,” Dela Hoya told The Los Angeles Times.

It’s been years since Golden Boy and Top Rank has made a fight happen, and this time could be the right time to break the spell.

“That’s one of the reasons I was extending the olive branch. The fans want to see these kinds of fights,” added Dela Hoya.

Alvarez lost to Mayweather in September last year at a catchweight of 152 lb and perhaps he can drop a couple more pounds to lure Pacquiao in.

Pacquiao has been fighting at 147 lb the past five or six years but has failed to knock anybody out since 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto inside 12 rounds.

Pacquiao said he may consider moving down in weight or to about 140. His trainer, Freddie Roach, is open to the idea as well.

But if Alvarez is put in front of him, Pacquiao won’t back down. He said he will fight anybody at 140 or 147 or anywhere up.

“It depends on my promoter,” Pacquiao loves to say.

“I will fight anybody. Basta boxer,” he’d say.