| Manny Pacquiao AFP FILE PHOTO |
Manny Pacquiao may end up fighting Lamont Peterson if Floyd Mayweather Jr. backs out according to respected boxing analyst Michael Marley. Peterson, 27, who recently beat Pacquiao’s friend Amir
Khan is now the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion.
“I should’ve thought of it before, maybe you did and I believe that this ‘wild card’ has not escaped the attention of the Pacquiao Braintrust. Lamont is hot coming off a spirited and controversial decision win over the also Freddie Roach trained Khan,” Marley wrote in his column in examiner.com.
Peterson (30-1-1 win-loss-draw card with 15 knockouts), loss to Timothy Bradley in 2009 and his bout against World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Victor Ortiz in 2010 yielded a draw. He could give Pacquiao a tough fight, something that boxing fans have been clamoring for quite a while.
For his part, Pacquiao could avenge the loss of Khan if he opted to fight Peterson.
Even if the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather mega-fight was moved to a latter part of 2012, the Filipino ring icon could still take on Peterson in a tune-up match by May next year.
