Will Arum get Pacquiao the fight he wants? When will Cotto make his return to the ring? Is Canelo cursed, or will he finally find an opponent? Who gave up their title, and who had their title taken away? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this week's "From Pillar To Post".

Pacquiao asks Arum to make Mayweather fight.

BREAKING NEWS >>> Manny Pacquiao has officially asked Bob Arum to make a fight with Floyd Mayweather. I'm not exactly sure why that's a headline, but for whatever reason, several media outlets felt the need to report it. Yes, Manny Pacquiao did indeed meet with promoter Bob Arum to discuss his future options, and the usual suspects were brought up, including Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto, and of course Floyd Mayweather. I guess the reason why this was such big news this week is because, according to Arum, Pacquiao made it clear that the one fight he wants is with Floyd Mayweather. Of course, Arum promptly told Pacquiao that he didn't think there was enough time to do the fight this year due to the fact that Mayweather is still serving out his prison sentence and likely wouldn't be available until some time next year...not to mention they still need time to build the outdoor stadium (note the sarcasm). On queue, Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, reminded everyone that the 8-division world champion would be going on vacation and would not rush to make any decision on his next move. In other words, expect Pacquiao to face Juan Manuel Marquez in November. In fact, expect Pacquiao to face both Marquez, Bradley, and maybe even someone else before he ever gets an opportunity to face Mayweather. At this point, it's becoming clear that Pacquiao's promoter and his adviser are following the same script that they've been using for the past three years: mention Mayweather's name, sprinkle in a few options, and convince Pacquiao to pick their opponent of choice. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Canelo vs. K9 in the works?

Apparently, Golden Boy Promotions hasn't learned their lesson. After Josesito Lopez spoiled their previously announced plans to match Victor Ortiz with WBC jr. middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in a September 8th pay-per-view event, one would think that matchmaker Eric Gomez might try to find an opponent who isn't already scheduled to fight. Although WBA jr. middleweight titlist Austin Trout and contender Carlos Quintana are both readily available and have no immediate plans for the future, it appears the braintrust at Golden Boy are instead targeting IBF jr. middleweight champion Cornelius "K9" Bundrage, who just so happens to have a not-so-easy mandatory title defense against former champion Cory Spinks this weekend. I don't know if it's Golden Boy Promotions or Canelo himself that's cursed, but something tells me that Spinks is going walk away with that title, leaving Gomez no choice but to continue his search for a replacement. Sometimes you just have to take the hint. If Bundrage does indeed lose this weekend, perhaps Golden Boy should seriously consider scrapping the September 8th ring return of Canelo.

Ortiz wants not-so-immediate rematch with Lopez.

Immediately after having surgery, former welterweight champion Victor Ortiz let it be known that he plans on exercising his rematch clause against the man who sent him to the hospital, Josesito Lopez. Of course, the only way Ortiz could inform someone was by writing down the phrase "exercise my rematch clause now" on a piece of paper, having just had his mouth wired shut due to the broken jaw he suffered in his bout with Lopez. Doctors placed a titanium plate and three screws in his jaw, which will keep his mouth shut for at least the next two weeks. It will be at least four to six months before Ortiz makes a full recovery, which means Lopez will most likely be allowed to take interim fight prior to the rematch.

Bailey agrees to defend title against Alexander...maybe.

Newly-crowned IBF welterweight champion Randall Bailey has agreed in principle to defend his title against top contender Devon Alexander on a September 8th Showtime card. There's only one minor detail that needs to be worked out...the venue. One would think that it would make sense for the fight to take place in Alexander's hometown of St. Louis, where he's a major draw. Not-so-fast says Bailey, however, prefering instead to get Alexander away from familiar surroundings. While Bailey insists that Alexander is the fight he wants, he's not too keen on fighting in the Lou and has yet to sign the contract. Regardless, my gut tells me that eventually, he will sign, and more than likely, the fight will take place in St. Louis. No matter how you slice it, the older and slower Bailey is probably gonna need another knockout to beat the younger, faster Alexander, so it's not going to matter where they fight.

Bradley trades one belt for another.

It looks like Timothy Bradley is planning on making a permanent home in the welterweight division. Earlier this week, Bradley informed the WBO that he was relinquishing his jr. welterweight title in order to keep the welterweight title he won in his split decision victory over Manny Pacquiao. The move means that Juan Manuel Marquez, who held the interim jr. welterweight title, will now get the full distinction as the WBO jr. welterweight champion, officially making him four-division world champion. What does that mean for Manny Pacquiao? Absolutely nothing other than the fact that his last two opponents are world champions while he's not. Crazy!

Cotto targets December 1 return.

According to reports, former jr. middleweight champion Miguel Cotto is said to be eyeing a December 1st return to the ring. It's rumored that the date has already been set aside by Madison Square Garden, in anticipation for Cotto's next fight. Although some media outlets are speculating that a rematch with Floyd Mayweather could be in the works, the idea seems somewhat premature. Nevertheless, the rumor mill has started. I'd take that headline with a grain of salt, but it's still something to keep an eye on.

Lamont Peterson stripped of WBA title.

According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, jr. welterweight champion Lamont Peterson was stripped of his WBA title due to his failed pre-fight drug test leading up to last month's canceled fight with Amir Khan. As a result, the title will be on the line when Khan faces WBC jr. welterweight champion Danny Garcia on July 14. Peterson is still barely clinging on to his IBF jr. welterweight title, but that could soon change if they also decided to strip him after the sanctioning body reviews his medical records. If that's the case, expect 3 titles to be on the line when Khan steps into the ring with Garcia.

Rahman pulls out of Povetkin fight due to injury.

The "who cares" news of the week came just yesterday when it was revealed that, due to an injury, former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman was forced to pull out of his scheduled July 14 clash with heavyweight titlist Alexander Povetkin. Rahman suffered an undisclosed hand injury that will prevent him from making the trip to Hamburg, Germany. I'm not really sure how many people actually cared about that fight, or the heavyweight division as a whole for that matter, but I figured I'd let you know.