Manny Pacquiao’s return bout could come against Mike Alvarado in spring

Photo by Alecs Ongcal

Feb

Manny Pacquiao is reeling from another loss, even if the result was highly controversial, and he’s plotting another comeback.

The former eight-division world champion won’t be facing a top-10 fighter as he looks to re-establish himself at age 39 following the defeat to Jeff Horn. And it looks like Pacquiao’s opponent is already lined up.

Sources told RingTV.com that Mike Alvarado is the front-runner to land the assignment, and when Bob Arum was asked if the action fighter is indeed the foe, he didn’t deny it.

“Yeah, [Alvarado] is a possibility,” Arum told RingTV.com. “I’ve spoken to Manny and we’re working on getting him back in the ring in the spring.”

Alvarado (38-4, 26 knockouts) has resembled a shot fighter. The 37-year-old struggled with journeyman Sidney Siqueira in August before scoring a spectacular knockout, and Alvarado doesn’t own a notable since out outlasted Brandon Rios in the rematch of their trilogy.

The Denver native was stopped by Ruslan Provodnikov in a brutal war after the win over Rios, and that was just the first of three consecutive, lopsided losses.

Juan Manuel Marquez dropped Alvarado and outpointed him. And then Rios needed just four rounds to take him out.

So if the goal is for Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) to win and do so going away, Alvarado seems like the perfect foil.

Terence Crawford is gearing up for his welterweight debut against Jeff Horn on April 14 at Madison Square Garden, and there’s talk the fight could appear on pay-per-view with Pacquiao-Alvarado in the co-main.

However it pans out, Pacquiao will be back soon, ready for one more run in his legendary career.

Mike Coppinger is the Senior Writer for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger