Manny Pacquiao, 33, is 54-3-2 in his career, winning his last 15 fights. (Robert Beck/SI)

LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao has chosen his next opponent, and it’s not Floyd Mayweather. In an interview at his office Wednesday, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Pacquiao has chosen his next opponent — whom Arum would only divulge was one of the four previously reported candidates, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto or Lamont Peterson — and plans to make his return to the ring on June 9 at a new outdoor facility off the Strip.

Arum reiterated that the problem with making a May fight with Mayweather was the timing. Mayweather has insisted that the fight take place May 5, tweeting Tuesday that “the date can’t change.” Arum says construction on a 38,000-seat temporary facility cannot be completed until later in the month. On Wednesday, Arum said he met with construction officials as well as officials from the Wynn and Sands Hotel. Arum also visited the construction site, a 40-acre plot jointly owned by the two hotels.

“To be safe, they said they needed until the end of May to get it done,” Arum said. “Economically, it’s a problem that Floyd created. The amount that would be lost by moving it up to May 5^th is enormous. The fight is not going to happen on May 5^th. We’ll do the fight in November. There is no real magic in doing it in May.”

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A surprisingly rocky performance by Manny Pacquiao (right) on Saturday represents the latest twist in the long road to a showdown with Floyd Mayweather. (AP)

Who should Manny Pacquiao fight next and why?

CHRIS MANNIX: Marquez. For starters, he earned it. Marquez has lost two of his three fights to Pacquiao and you can make an argument that he won all three. In fact, the only thing decided on Saturday was that nothing was decided.

I’ve been craving a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown as much as anyone, but simply brooming Marquez aside would be insulting. Besides, Pacquiao-Marquez IV would generate a huge buzz and would invariably lead to a close, competitive, action-packed fight. Moreover, I get the feeling Pacquiao needs another fight with Marquez. Not because he needs closure but because Mayweather presents most of the same style problems of Marquez, along with a host of others. It’s a risk, but I say do Marquez first, then hope for a crack at Mayweather.

RICHARD O’BRIEN: I had no quarrel with Pacquiao’s getting the decision against Marquez last Saturday night. The fight was close, and Marquez, as well-schooled and focused a fighter as any in the game today, showed he knows exactly how to fight Manny. But he never pressed the issue and he certainly did not close out the show. Should they fight a fourth time? Sure. But not just yet.

Manny’s less-than-spectacular form against Marquez no doubt has lots of observers now giving him a lot less of a chance against Mayweather (whom Chris observes in this week’s SI is essentially a bigger, faster, stronger, younger Marquez). But that’s still the fight that boxing needs. Pacquiao has to know that his time is running short, as is Mayweather’s. And, no, Manny has no obligation to beat Marquez “more convincingly” before moving on.

Freddie Roach may be a little more concerned than he was before at the prospect of facing Floyd, but the idea that the 32-year-old Pac-Man needs a tune-up at this point, seems misguided. It may indeed prove to be the case that Mayweather is too complete and too slick for Pacquiao, but Manny has wanted this bout for years and if his flawed showing against Marquez makes him suddenly more attractive to Mayweather, well, that’s one good thing for Manny to come out of this weekend.

BRYAN ARMEN GRAHAM: Sure, Pacquiao should fight Marquez. Even Roach said so, and he hates the fight. But since when has what happens in boxing been about should? Now is not the time for an attack of conscience when Mayweather-Pacquaio is as close to coming off as ever. While any boxing purist would love to see Pacquiao-Marquez IV — a modern-day answer to the Willie Pep-Sandy Saddler quadrilogy — I’d be happy to wait until November 2012 for it. And I know I’m not alone.

Pacquiao hadn’t been seriously challenged since his previous fight with Marquez in 2008, a credit both to his meteoric spike in talent under Roach and expert matchmaking by Top Rank’s Bruce Trampler and Brad “Abdul” Goodman. But Marquez’s savvy counterpunching and meticulous ring generalship exposed a vulnerability that likely had Mayweather licking his chops.

Can Manny beat Floyd? It’s possible, but it won’t be easy. Pacquiao will need to recommit himself 100 percent to boxing to solve the biggest obstacle of his professional career — a challenge that may very well define him. That means no politics. No endorsements. No singing. No distractions. Maybe pass on Jimmy Kimmel this time. If he can return to the place he was before the Oscar De La Hoya fight that launched him to global susperstardom, Pacquiao may be able to fill out the holes in his game that Mayweather will be itching to exploit. If not, then Saturday’s fight was merely the beginning of the end.

Here it is. Have at it. SI.com scored it 114-114.

How close were the first two Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fights? Pacquiao holds a 679-678 points lead if you add up both scorecards. (AP)

SI.com’s boxing experts predict Saturday’s welterweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. Share your prediction in the comments below.

CHRIS MANNIX

No matter how good Manny Pacquiao has been at welterweight and how bad Juan Manuel Marquez was in his lone fight with Floyd Mayweather, no matter how improved Pacquiao is since the last time the two fought in 2008, no matter how vulnerable Marquez has looked in his last few fights, this one will be close. Marquez has just figured out how to fight Pacquiao. Marquez will go down, maybe more than once, but he will get up, rally and give Manny fits with his elusiveness and counterpunching. Still, I favor Pacquiao. He’s determined to close the book on this rivalry and that aggresiveness will pay off in the end. Pacquiao, by 11th-round referee or corner stoppage.

RICHARD O’BRIEN

When two fighters have already fought 24 rounds as furiously and closely as Pacquiao and Marquez have, there’s a natural tendency to expect another 12 to be just as spectacular and just as competitive. In this case, the spectacular part should pan out; the competitive part maybe not quite so much. And the 12-round part? Not likely.

Pacquiao is a much more complete fighter than he was even the last time he faced Marquez, and while Marquez’s trainer, Nacho Beristain, insists that refinement will actually help his fighter — making Manny less unpredictable — it’s just going to make Pacquiao even more formidable. Marquez has added weight the right way this time (unlike against Mayweather) and won’t be outgunned. Look for him to meet Pacquiao head on and try to get him out of there.  Of course, there’s nothing Manny would like better — and that’s where the spectacular should come in.  But Pacquiao’s wonderous speed will allow him to eventually start outlanding Marquez and busting him up. Marquez is as skilled as anyone in the game, but he won’t be looking merely to survive. Pacquiao by eighth- or ninth-round stoppage.

BRYAN ARMEN GRAHAM

You write off a Mexican warrior like Marquez at your own risk, but all signs indicate an intent to trade bombs with Pacquiao early rather than rely on the calculated counterpunching that so flummoxed the Filipino when they met in 2004 and ’08. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures: Pacquiao is six years younger with marked advantages in speed and power. The good news is, unlike Josh Clottey and Shane Mosley, Marquez won’t go into survival mode the first time he gets caught flush. It promises to be fun while it lasts, but I don’t see it going past six rounds as Marquez gets stopped inside the distance for the first time in 59 paying fights. Pacquiao by fifth-round knockout.

Angel Hernandez (above) has joined Juan Manuel Marquez's team as a strength and conditioning coach, but not without controversy. (Youtube.com)

LAS VEGAS — One of the most controversial figures involved with the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez is Angel Hernandez, Marquez’s newly minted conditioning coach, who in 2008 reportedly admitted to a grand jury that he supplied Olympic track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery with performance enhancing drugs.

The presence of Hernandez, who escaped punishment by providing information about other steroid users to federal investigators, has led to questions about just how Marquez, who will be making just his second fight at welterweight, has been packing on the pounds.

Hernandez sat down with a small group of reporters on Wednesday:

How will your presence make a difference in this fight?

Hernandez: If you go back and look at the previous two fights, Juan Manuel had a lot of endurance. In this fight, when he is going up in weight you have to watch the speed. Against [Floyd] Mayweather he fought at 144 pounds and because of that he was slow, didn’t have any mobility, any strength. This was a guy that never lifted weights, never did any work with the medicine ball, never did explosive drills. The difference will be that both guys have a lot of endurance, but Juan will have the same rhythm but better strength. Whoever connects with the first good punch, that person will be knocked out.

You say you have gotten Juan faster and bigger and stronger. How?

Hernandez: He’s explosive now. His punches are stronger than they were before. Why? His muscle mass has increased and his explosiveness is still there. His punches will have a bigger impact now.

What about the controversy around you?

Hernandez: The public opinion will always be there. As I said earlier, we were the first ones who said that we have not used anything illegal. We have asked the commission if they want to do blood and urine test, we welcome it. Supplementation, legal supplementation, has changed. You can’t compare a supplement that was on the market 10 years ago to a supplement today. There is different research going on all over the world. Of course, with science, things change. You can’t train someone with the same supplements since there are many supplements that can make a different with an athlete if taken at the right time.

So you have been using only legal supplements?

Hernandez: All legal, all permitted by the rules of boxing.

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Manny Pacquiao wouldn't talk much, but Freddie Roach had plenty to say about the potential fight with Floyd Mayweather. (Steve Marcus/Reuters)

LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao is not much of a talker.

Never has been, never will be.

It’s not his nature. Where Floyd Mayweather is outspoken, Manny Pacquiao is reserved. Where Mayweather is boastful, Pacquiao is modest.

Those around Pacquiao like it that way. They don’t want him to change. Not his promoter, Bob Arum. Not his trainer, Freddie Roach. Not his P.R. man, Fred Sternburg.

OK, maybe not Sternburg.

The point is, Pacquiao isn’t in the sound bite business. So while the dozen or so media gathered in a private room at the MGM Grand on Tuesday practically pleaded with Pacquiao to call Mayweather out, Pacquiao wouldn’t bite.

“I’m not interrupting Bob’s negotiations for the next opponent,” Pacquiao said. “After every fight I’m just waiting for the next fight, the next opponent that he can get me.”

Yawn.

Fortunately, Pacquiao has Roach, who after Mayweather’s (sort of) public declaration last week that he wants his next fight to be against Pacquiao, has decided he has had enough.

“Manny is who he is,” Roach said. “I’m not going to ask him to change his personality. I’ll talk sh–. Because I’m kind of tired of Floyd to be honest with you. Just take the fight or shut up. He wants to make the rules, he wants to dictate everything. Who the fu– is he to make the rules? We’ll fight him any day of the week. There will be a question mark after his undefeated record because he only fights guys he can beat. He only fights little guys. He sends Leonard Ellerbe, his go-fer, to make a speech. Who the hell is Leonard Ellerbe? Why doesn’t Floyd say it himself? I’m just kind of tired of it.”

Should Pacquiao dispose of Juan Manuel Marquez — who Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against on Saturday (9 p.m., HBO PPV) — there will undoubtedly be a strong push to make a fight with Mayweather. And despite his frustrations, Roach says he is all for it.

“There is no one else I’m really interested in,” Roach said. “I don’t see any other challenges. I think that fight needs to happen. It’s the only challenge out there.”

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Juan Manuel Marquez (bottom) was mobbed by fans Saturday when he appeared at Santa Anita Park on Breeders' Cup Classic Day. (Bryan Armen Graham/SI)

ARCADIA, Calif. — A sparring exhibition featuring Juan Manuel Marquez at Santa Anita Park was cancelled Saturday due to weather concerns, but it didn’t put a damper on the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the Mexican’s first public appearance in the United States ahead of his Nov. 12 showdown with Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez arrived at the thoroughbred race track just before 2 p.m. wearing a Dallas Cowboys ski cap, all-black tracksuit and Reebok running shoes, waving to the hundreds of fans who surrounded a ring near the top of the stretch that had been transported from Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Appearing happy and animated, Marquez climbed into the ring and spent 45 minutes walking the perimeter, conducting interviews both in English and Spanish for print and TV media.

Top Rank spokesman Lee Samuels said the chilly weather conditions — temperatures hovered around 60 degrees — prompted organizers to cancel the public workout. The exhibition had also been intended to showcase 140-pound titleholder Timothy Bradley, a recent Top Rank signee who is fighting on the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard.

With the track already teeming with activity on Breeders’ Cup Classic Day, the undermanned security staff found themselves quickly overwhelmed. At one point while signing memorabilia for a chaotic throng, Marquez was struck in the left cheek by a boxing glove that an overzealous fan hoped he’d autograph.

The 38-year-old Marquez said his final preparations have gone well and downplayed any animosity between Pacquiao and himself.

“After the fight he’s a friend,” he said. “It’s professional sports. But inside the ring, no friends.”

Marquez took a private jet from Mexico City early Saturday morning but had to fly to San Diego for customs. He then flew to Burbank, where a luxury coach bus (with his name and likeness plastered on the side) shuttled him to the historic horse track located 14 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

He is staying overnight in L.A. for interviews Sunday morning before flying to Las Vegas for fight week.

– Bryan Armen Graham

LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao’s latest performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! ran just over two minutes, but required more than two weeks of planning.

Fred Sternburg, Pacquiao’s tireless publicist, recounted the story after the Filipino puncher teamed with Kimmel on the Bee Gees’ 1977 hit “How Deep Is Your Love” on Thursday night.

Pacquiao had first suggested a Bee Gees tune several weeks ago — not “How Deep Is Your Love” specifically — but the producers at Kimmel were unsure about it. Subsequent ideas included a duet of “Ebony and Ivory” with fellow guest Eddie Murphy (an idea Pacquiao quickly vetoed) and “That’s What Friends Are For” with both Murphy and Kimmel. Even Stevie Wonder was considered as a surprise guest.

“Endless Love” was pitched, but Pacquiao said he only sings it with female accompaniment. (Diana Ross wasn’t available.) Not until a Kimmel producer picked up the CD at 8 p.m. last night from Pacquiao’s Studio City apartment was the song choice finalized. The fighter gave it a quick shot last night after a group bible study, then worked out any last kinks Thursday after his arrival at the theater where Kimmel is taped.

In the interview that preceded the performance, Pacquiao discussed his Nov. 12 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, his new produce line and the much-anticipated fight with Floyd Mayweather.

“I don’t know what’s the reason,” Pacquiao said of the impasse that’s prevented the richest prizefight in history, “but I’m ready to fight.”

– Bryan Armen Graham

Kobe Bryant (left) paid a visit to the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood on Thursday afternoon to watch Manny Pacquiao (right) train ahead of his Nov. 12 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. (Chris Farina/Top Rank)

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant visited the Wild Card Boxing Club on Thursday to watch Manny Pacquiao train ahead of his Nov. 12 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard arrived at the Hollywood gym just before 2 p.m., shortly after Pacquiao turned up for his afternoon workout.

“It’s a great honor to be here,” Bryant told Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer and the gym owner. “It’s a great honor to watch you guys work.”

Kobe Bryant observed from ringside Thursday as Manny Pacquiao sparred and worked the mitts with Freddie Roach. (Bryan Armen Graham/SI)

Handlers for the 13-time NBA All-Star had called ahead and told gym officials to instruct the media — there were four of us in attendance — to neither approach nor talk to him. But Bryant happily posed for photos and gave autographs to the gym hands and sparring partners that gravitated his way, signing everything from boxing gloves to Lakers jerseys to cell phone sleeves.

When Pacquiao’s brother Bobby presented Bryant with a pair of gloves signed by Manny, the five-time NBA champion quipped about the ongoing lockout: “I’m unemployed, I might need them.”

Bryant observed from ringside with three friends as Pacquiao stretched with strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, then sparred seven rounds and worked six rounds on the mitts with Roach. The 33-year-old Bryant said he was impressed by Pacquiao’s blinding hand speed.

“I wasn’t even sure how many punches he was throwing, I just heard them,” he said.

Bryant left the Wild Card at 3:30, before Pacquiao had finished his pad work.

“It was very nice that Kobe came,” remarked Roach, a lifelong Boston Celtics fan. “He seemed like a very nice man. Very polite. I enjoyed meeting him.”

Although the two superstar athletes had already met on several occasions — they’re two of Nike’s highest-profile endorsers — Pacquaio said Thursday’s visit was news to him.

“I was surprised that he came,” he said.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Bryant and Pacquiao, Nike promotional stablemates for years, had met on several previous occasions. Kobe spent more than an hour at the Wild Card on Thursday while Pacquiao worked out. (Chris Farina/Top Rank)