Manny Pacquiao on Monday announced that he will not be in the ring alongside Mike Alvarado in the semi-final of a Top Rank event scheduled for April 14 in Las Vegas.
According to his manager, Aquiles Zonio, the Filipino icon was insulted to fight in a co-feature, and that was why the bout wouldn’t happen.
“No, he will not fight against [Mike] Alvarado. He refused Top Rank promoter Bob Arum’s offer to fight in Crawford-Horn’s sub-card.” Zonio said.
“This is an insult to him. The whole world knows that he won this fight in Brisbane. This is without a doubt the biggest flight in the history of boxing.” Zonio added.
Pacquiao lost to Horn by a controversial unanimous decision 117-111, 115-113, and 115-113 in July, 2017, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. However, the 39-year-old boxer has announced that will continue his boxing career despite having lost to Horn.
Promoter Bob Arum is said to be on the verge of having Manny Pacquiao and Mike Alvarado fight on April 14 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. If Arum can do the fight, Pacquiao-Alvarado will be under card of Jeff Horn against Terence Crawford on ESPN.
Pacquiao card needs Top Rank to ask boxing fans to pay to see him, even though his fight against 37-year-old Alvarado is a frightful fight, just like the clash between Horn and Crawford, a hideous fight also.
According to Forbes, the fight against Alvarado was offered because Top Rank had invested a lot of money in the Colorado native’s career in 2012 and 2013. Associating Alvarado with Pacquiao in a fight will give Top Rank a return on investment.
Jeff Horn fights Terence Corcoran on April 14. (Source:www.couriermail.com.au)
Alvarado will be the non-favorite opponent for Pacquiao to look like he was eight years ago when he was at his peak. He was abandoned by boxing fans after his losses against several boxers Brandon Rios, Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez.
The American boxer has won his last 4 fights against a lesser opposition. For Arum, it does not matter that Alvarado has not fought the best boxers.
If Pacquiao fights Alvarado on the undercard of Horn against Crawford, he will likely be back with his long-time coach, Freddie Roach.
