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Marquez, Bradley, Mayweather on Roach’s wish list for April 12 Pacquiao fight

MACAU - NOVEMBER 24: Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines celebrates winning against Brandon Rios of the U.S. during their 'Clash in Cotai' WBO International Welterweight title fight on November 24, 2013 in Macau. (Photo by Nicky Loh/Getty Images)

Manny Pacquiao is heading back into the ring on April 12, according to Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum. The fight, however, will not be held in Macau but back in the United States.
 
 Arum announced the tentative date of Pacquiao’s next fight during the post-fight press conference at The Venetia. He declined to drop names on possible opponents.
 
Freddie Roach on the other hand was more than willing to announce his wish list. “Personally, I want (Juan Manuel) Marquez but the thing is I can’t be sure if we can get him to fight us. (Timothy) Bradley is there. Obviously (Floyd) Mayweather is a guy we want.”
 
Prior the fight, Mayweather’s name was also brought up regularly. Robert Garcia said that three years ago, he picked Pacquiao to beat the American if they ever met. “Now I think Mayweather will win because Manny slowed down a bit,” he said.

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Roach had a different opinion on the matter. “Manny slowed down but Floyd slowed down too,” he explained. “And that’s a bigger factor for him because of his defensive stance.”
 
“I’m not saying it will be an easy fight for us, of course we need a great game plan for someone like Floyd,” Roach continued. “But if you’re asking me, I’ll still pick Manny over Floyd.
 
Arum however cautioned about making brash decision. “We’ll sit down and we’ll figure it out. If you figure something out in light of a big victory, you usually make the wrong decision,” he said. “We’ll talk to Manny, we’ll talk to Freddie but I know that we are tentatively scheduled for April 12, hopefully in the United States.