Although Manny Pacquiao is getting ready to fight Lucas Matthysse next month, he's got one other name in his mind, according to Bob Arum.
The Top Rank Boxing CEO appeared on SiriusXM Boxing radio and said Pacquiao is not interested in fighting former undisputed junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford, but he is interested in fight WBA lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
With Lomachenko looking set to fight at lightweight for the foreseeable future, Pacquiao would have to go down two weight classes for the fight to happen. Arum said Pacquiao would have no problem needing to go down to 135 lbs. and when asked if he would make that fight if possible, Arum replied "sure, why not?"
“I can’t talk about what Manny wants. He has absolutely no interest in fighting Crawford. He told me that himself and the guy he’s looking to fight is Lomachenko at 135 lbs. He says he can get down to 135 lbs," Arum said.
Although Pacquiao is known for winning world titles at weight classes as low as 112 lbs., it has been a while since Pacquiao had fought at 135 lbs. Pacquiao has only fought once as a lightweight in his career and it was back in 2008 when he defeated David Diaz to win the WBC lightweight title. After that fight, Pacquiao moved up in weight to get one of the biggest wins of his career at the end of 2008 when he retired former world champion Oscar De La Hoya.
Pacquiao is currently scheduled to fight Matthysse for the WBA "regular" welterweight title next month. Lomachenko won the WBA lightweight title back in May when he knocked out Jorge Linares on ESPN, but Lomachenko is currently out until the end of the year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum.
