Manny Pacquiao's return to the ring is still expected to happen in a few months and it could potentially come in Top Rank's first pay-per-view in the company's new relationship with ESPN.
Bob Arum spoke with ESPN to talk about Pacquiao's return to the ring, which was briefly rumored to be against Vasyl Lomachenko before it got dispelled. Pacquiao could potentially return in April and fight on the same card as the Jeff Horn vs. Terence Crawford WBO welterweight title fight. Arum said if Pacquiao's return was on the same card as Horn vs. Crawford, then the event could be a pay-per-view event with Pacquiao likely fighting in the main event.
"The ESPN guys know how to market and present events and they know how this will be handled. [Pacquiao] won't be [fighting on] an undercard. It will be something very unique and when we do it, it will be appealing to everybody involved," Arum said.
Arum did say that the fight between Horn and Crawford is "virtually done. It's not signed yet, but we hope it will be in the next week." Arum said he'll likely fly off to the Philippines soon to meet with Pacquiao and discuss his options for hin in-ring return.
Pacquiao was going to fight Horn in a rematch from their summer 2017 fight in Australia, but Pacquiao withdrew from the fight. Instead, Horn defended his title against Gary Corcoran and with Crawford vacating his unified junior welterweight titles to move up in weight, he became the mandatory challenger to Horn's title. Pacquiao is expected to fight the winner of the Horn vs. Crawford fight.
