Manny Pacquiao will look to redeem himself in his upcoming fight against Brandon Rios, and a win could line him up in a rematch with Timothy Bradley, who recently defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in their World Boxing Organization welterweight title showdown.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum remains cold on the idea of pitting Pacquiao against Bradley in a rematch of their June 2012 showdown, but a Philippine newspaper reported, quoting an insider from Team Pacquiao, that Pacquiao will face Bradley if he gets past Rios.
"That's really the plan (to pit Pacquiao against the winner of Bradley-Marquez)," a Team Pacquiao insider was quoted as saying in a report from Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The Guardian also reported that Arum will also consider arranging a rematch between Pacquiao and Bradley if the former wins against Rios, but added that a fight between Bradley and Rios will be easier to arrange.
"As for who the victor could face next, his promoter, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, pointed to the winner of the 23 November tilt between Pacquiao and Brandon Ríos. Of the two, a Bradley-Ríos fight would be easier to make considering that both men share the same manager, Cameron Dunkin," the Guardian reported.
Bradley, who scored a split decision victory over Marquez on Saturday to remain unbeaten, has been vocal about his desire to face Pacquiao again to prove that his win in June 2012 was no fluke. The 30-year-old American scored a controversial split decision win against Pacquiao to grab the WBO welterweight belt.
"That is definitely a chapter in my life that I definitely have to visit and revisit. I think the fans, everybody around the whole world wants to see that fight and they want to see who the true champion is," Bradley said in an interview with ABS-CBN news.
Arum previously tried to arrange a rematch between Pacquiao and Bradley or Pacquiao and Marquez, but the two fighters who handed Pacquiao's last two defeats to the former pound-for-pound king decided to face each other instead.
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