The Sunday Mail
MANNY PACQUIAO is another step closer to making his return to the ring after undergoing a successful MRI scan on his injured right shoulder. The Filipino suffered a torn rotator cuff in the build-up to his defeat by Floyd Mayweather in May, a fight he lost on points.Pacquiao had surgery shortly afterwards but is expected to return in the new year, potentially against Bolton’s Amir Khan.He was advised that although the injury is healing well, he should avoid strenuous activity for the time being.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum, meanwhile, confirmed last week that he was in talks with Khan’s team. “We were planning for Manny Pacquiao to fight at the end of February, or at the latest, the first two weeks in April,” he told the Telegraph. “March is out of the question because of a big college basketball tournament in the United States. That gets all the ink at the time.
“I’m in the process of having negotiations with Amir Khan’s uncle and his lawyer, Robert Davis, and those negotiations are ongoing.” Khan also confirmed he is keen on the fight.
“I want to fight Manny Pacquiao next because if I beat him, maybe that will make Floyd Mayweather come out of retirement to fight me. The public demand would be huge,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’m looking at fighting in December but if not then it will be as late as February. We’re looking at a few different opponents and hopefully we’ll find out exactly in the next week or so.” — Daily Mail
