Pacquiao has choice of four potential opponents
Manny Pacquiao will be offered a choice of four potential opponents for his next fight but Floyd Mayweather will not be among them.
On the menu for Pacquiao are Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto and Americans Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson.
"I will put everything on the table and Manny will choose," said promoter Bob Arum. Mayweather, the man fans most want to see Pacquiao fight, begins a 90-day prison sentence for assault on Friday. Mayweather and Pacquiao were due to meet last year before a row over drug testing scuppered the bout. .jpg)
Arum said the earliest seven-weight world champion Pacquiao could fight five-weight world champion Mayweather would be November. "Besides the opponent, the other thing we need to discuss is whether he [Pacquiao] will fight in May or June," said Arum.
"You can't expect Floyd, after having been in prison, to come out and go right into a big fight. "He won't be available to train or promote a fight in May or June. He'll probably want to have a tune-up fight."
Arum said a 5 May date would be a factor only against Marquez because that is when a Mexican holiday falls and a date when fights involving Mexicans are popular. In his most recent fight, Pacquiao, 33, won a majority decision over Marquez last November, although many observers thought Marquez had done enough at least to earn a draw. Their previous two encounters, which resulted in a win and a draw for Pacquiao, were also controversial. Pacquiao stopped current WBA light-middleweight champion Cotto in the 12th round in 2009 but Cotto has stopped three rivals in a row since.
Arum said a Pacquiao-Cotto rematch would be fought at light-middleweight rather than welterweight, where the prior fight was staged and Pacquiao holds the WBO belt. Unbeaten WBO light-welterweight title-holder Bradley, who is also promoted by Arum, would have to move up a weight to make the fight. Peterson suffered his only loss to Bradley in 2009 but comes off a controversial split-decision upset of Britain's Amir Khan last month.
ManU Fines Rooney For Breaking Club Rules
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was fined in excess of 200,00 Pounds for his performance in training following a night out.
Rooney, along with Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson, were brought in to do an extra day's training then left out of the United squad to face Blackburn after reportedly going out for a meal together with their respective partners in Manchester on Boxing Day, the evening of their 5-0 win against Wigan.
There is no suggestion that any of the players misbehaved, stayed out too late or consumed too much alcohol, but Ferguson is understood to have found them in breach of club rules and disciplined them accordingly with Rooney being fined a week's wages of around £200,000.
Rooney was fined one week's wages, and has accepted the punishment..png)
The England striker, who was dropped for United's defeat by Blackburn on Saturday, is understood to want to draw a line under the matter and get back on the pitch.
Evans and Gibson were also fined and left out of the United squad for the Boxing Day match. It is understood each of the three players were treated equally.
According to sources, the matter is now considered closed.
"We move on and there is no ongoing feud," the source added.
It has been reported that Ferguson made Rooney, Evans and Gibson come in on Wednesday, 28 December - a designated day off - and train on their own.