One would hope that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather can possibly come to terms with each other and make their fantasy fight a reality next year, but that's as unlikely to happen as seeing Pacquiao in the ring with another Welterweight for that matter. Word from multiple sources is that Pacquiao's 2012 is shaping up to be a Spring showdown with WBC Junior Welterweight king Timothy Bradley and then a Winter war in November, as per his usual, against none other than
.Brandon Rios?
Yeah, say what you want, but I'm almost 100% sure that is what Top Rank will do because they already tried to do something similar before. Last year, before former lightweight champion Edwin Valero killed himself, Arum was very insistent on making the undefeated fighter next in line to face Pacquiao, despite the fact that he had yet to have fought over 140 pounds. With very few marketable names left in the Top Rank stable, Rios, who's in a similar situation as Valero was, makes him the easy pick. Can't say I blame them for making money where money is to be made, but are you guys going to shell out a total of $120 to watch Pacquiao face Bradley and Rios in 2012?
The Best of the Rest...
I don't like the pairing of Yuriorkis Gamboa and trainer Emanuel Steward, even if Gamboa probably doesn't need a trainer with the amount of skill he has. Steward slows a lot of fighters down and makes them too over-reliant on their jabs, and Gamboa looked more of a complete fighter against Daniel Ponce de Leon than he has in his career. Not a knock on Steward, but there's a reason he's not in the corners of Miguel Cotto and Chad Dawson anymore and it isn't money.
What an awful performance by Nonito Donaire last weekend. I get that Omar Narvaez didn't come to fight and that you can't knock everybody out spectacularly, but that's the idea Top Rank had in mind when they made the fight to begin with. Here's to hoping that whoever he does fight next, not only will Donaire look as impressive as we are used to, but the opponent comes to fight as well.
Are you a bit confused about what to think about the Hopkins/Dawson/WBC deal? Well, the WBC has already ruled that Hopkins will remain the WBC champion assuming that the California State Athletic Commission will reverse the fight to a no contest, which is the likely solution. Should the CSAC rule otherwise, the WBC will order an immediate rematch to Hopkins/Dawson, which neither will accept, making Hopkins a champion emeritus, or something, and Pascal/Dawson II for a belt in which the winner will have to fight Hopkins, or
aw, forget it. Why is anybody wasting time talking about Hopkins or the WBC anyway?
Danny Howard can be reached via e-mail (dhoward@fighthype.com), Twitter (@DBHoward126) and on Facebook.