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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The impasse between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather is international news, a fact underscored Friday when the fighters got the Taiwanese animation treatment via NMA.tv.

Highlights include: Pacquiao knocking Juan Manuel Marquez clear across the U.S.-Mexico border; the highly suggestive image of Mayweather limping out of jail with a sore rear end; Pacquiao micturating on himself while standing across Mayweather in the ring.

There’s also an English-language version for the subtitle-averse.

– Bryan Armen Graham

Just when you thought the life of Floyd Mayweather couldn’t get any wackier, there’s this: On Friday, just hours before Mayweather was set to report to county jail to begin a 90-day sentence that was part of a plea deal he made to avoid a felony assault trial, Las Vegas judge Melissa Saragosa agreed to delay Mayweather’s sentence until June 1, allowing Mayweather to fight as planned on May 5.

Putting aside the judge’s bizarre decision — which was seemingly made for the economic benefit of Las Vegas, which Mayweather’s attorney, Richard Wright, argued for — the next logical question is this: Will we finally get to see Mayweather fight Manny Pacquiao?

According to Bob Arum, no. Arum told multiple reporters Friday afternoon that Pacquiao’s next fight would be in June. Arum plans to travel to the Philippines next week to present Pacquiao with a list of four possible opponents: Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto and Lamont Peterson. The delay of Mayweather’s sentencing, Arum said, would not change that.

That, quite frankly, is ridiculous. Now, Arum fumed when Mayweather made an official announcement in November that he would be fighting May 5 and — albeit not directly — he wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao. We can debate Mayweather’s motives for suddenly developing a taste for a Pacquiao fight over the last month (a popular theory, one I believe, is that Mayweather saw Pacquiao struggle against Marquez, a man he destroyed in 2009, and decided now was the time to make the fight) but there is no debating that this is the first time Mayweather has shown a clear interest in making this mega fight. Arum’s problem, which he has voiced to me repeatedly, was that Mayweather was not so big that he should be dictating where and when a Pacquiao fight should take place.

Arum doesn’t like the people he has to make a deal with, either. He hates Mayweather’s adviser, Al Haymon. He is annoyed by what he believes is a lack of an understanding of the boxing business by Mayweather’s de facto promoter, Golden Boy. And, of course, he doesn’t like Mayweather, the man who left him just before signing to fight the richest fight in boxing history, against Oscar De La Hoya.

Still, Arum has to at least explore the possibility of a Mayweather fight. Whether it is Arum or Todd duBoef — the Top Rank President who has taken a more involved role in the company the last few years — someone needs to reach out to Haymon or Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. If you believe former HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg (and I do), there was a deal to be had in 2010, when Arum, Haymon and Greenburg negotiated a deal that ultimately was rejected by Mayweather. At the very least a few phone calls need to be exchanged.

This is where incoming HBO Sports president Ken Hershman can play a role. Hershman is an accomplished dealmaker; just review all the moving parts it took to bring together to make the Super Six super middleweight tournament. He has a relationship with Haymon. He has a relationship with Arum. He has a relationship with Golden Boy. Hershman, like Greenburg, could act as a go-between, a filter, someone to cut through the rhetoric and get to the points that matter.

And there really are not many issues in dispute. Both sides, I’ve been told, have agreed to a 50-50 split. Both sides have agreed to unlimited, USADA monitored blood testing, though there are some questions about whether Mayweather would allow WADA to test Pacquiao when he is training in the Philippines. Arum may not like Mayweather dictating a May 5 in Las Vegas date but Pacquiao has fought eight of his last 10 fights in Las Vegas and on Cinco de Mayo weekend twice in the last three years. The date and venue should not be a significant issue.

Arum should not let his ego or personal feelings toward Mayweather and his team influence him on this. This is a golden opportunity to give boxing an unparalleled shot in the arm, to determine once and for all who the best pound for pound fighter is in the sport. Floyd made his move, Bob. You’re up.

– Chris Mannix

LOS ANGELES — When Michael Buffer boomed out Lamont Peterson’s name Saturday night, officially awarding Peterson a pair of junior welterweight titles and ending Amir Khan’s reign atop the 140-pound division, the first person I thought of was Tim Bradley. Bradley, of course, has had a very public back and forth with Khan over the last year, one that intensified when Bradley passed on a $1.8 million payday to fight Khan last summer. Still, I was interested in getting Bradley’s thoughts on his archrival losing to Peterson, whom Bradley destroyed over 12 rounds in an alphabet title fight in 2009.

“I thought the fight went exactly as I thought it would,” Bradley said. “Peterson can box but he likes to bang and brawl. He attacked the body the same way he did with me. He looked a little more confident though. He said he wasn’t mentally ready when he fought me. He said he was a little nervous. He looked more comfortable, like he was ready to be there.”

The ending was controversial, of course, because referee Joe Cooper deducted two points from Khan for pushing. The deductions proved to be the difference in the fight. While Khan protested the referee’s calls, Bradley says they were fair.

“Review the tape, see how many times Khan pushed and shoved Peterson,” Bradley said. “He was pushing him and trying to get space. The ref warned him. He took action. The ref did his job. A foul is a foul.”

Bradley said he had no sympathy for Khan getting a raw deal in Peterson’s hometown.

“It was in D.C., you allowed that to happen,” Bradley said. “You should look at your promoter and say, ‘You set me up.’ Khan goes to Vegas and he does five or six thousand fans. In D.C. there was about nine thousand. That’s more money for the promoter. They thought it was going to be safe but when you go into someone’s hometown, you take a risk. I know when I fight, I look at who is going to be the judge, the ref, everything. Khan has himself and his team to blame. What they did was arrogant and stupid. You are the No. 1 guy at 140 pounds and you allow that to happen? I’ve been saying Amir needs to focus on Lamont and not me and Floyd [Mayweather]. Now he lost his belts.”

Bradley says he has been taking some time off since his win over Joel Casamayor last month but plans to get back in the gym next month. He is waiting for word on a fight with Manny Pacquiao — he is believed to be one of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum’s top choices as a possible opponent should negotiations for a megafight with Mayweather fall apart — but he won’t wait forever. He says he is still open to fighting anyone, including Peterson, who does not owe Khan a mandatory rematch.

“That would be a good fight, a tough fight,” Khan said. “Peterson, now that he has those belts, it is going to be hard to take them from him. It’s definitely a challenge that I would love to face. He’s a guy who can make an exciting fight. It would be a tough fight, but I believe it is a winnable.”

– Chris Mannix, SI.com

Manny Pacquiao might be rethinking a Floyd Mayweather showdown after struggling against Juan Manuel Marquez. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS – Maybe Floyd Mayweather’s team is right. Maybe Manny Pacquiao, fresh off the most disappointing win of his career, doesn’t want any part of Mayweather. More importantly, maybe his team, specifically Bob Arum and Freddie Roach, don’t want any part of him after watching Juan Manuel Marquez counterpunch Pacquiao to death on his way to a disputed decision.

Then again, maybe Mayweather’s team is wrong. Maybe Pacquiao isn’t sure who he wants to fight next and needs more than 48 hours to decide. Maybe Pacquiao, who reportedly is dealing with personal issues involving his wife, Jinkee, needs some time to work them out.

I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t care.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao saga makes the NBA labor negotiations seem tolerable. Everyone lies. Arum says he wants the fight. Privately, many industry sources believe he doesn’t want it because he has no interest in making Mayweather, the man who left Top Rank before his fight with Oscar De La Hoya, even richer. Mayweather’s advisor, Leonard Ellerbe says Pacquiao is a coward. This is the same man who, in defense of Mayweather, has said repeatedly that a fighter isn’t afraid of anyone. Pacquiao is, presumably, a fighter. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he has an email from retired judge Daniel Weinstein, who has mediated past disputes between Top Rank and Golden Boy, saying that Arum was not interested in pursuing a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather. Schaefer also told SI.com that reports of Golden Boy approaching Erik Morales about a possible fight with Mayweather were “the first I had heard of it.” On Saturday, Morales confirmed that Schaefer had approached him about a fight with Mayweather.

Pinocchio told more truths than these guys.

I’m starting to wonder why we, as a media, continue to cover it. If a fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao gets made, great. It will be the most watched fight in pay per view history, will generate north of $180 million in revenue and draw a Presidential election-level of media attention. But representatives from the two sides can’t even sit in the same room together. They take every little opportunity to snipe at each other in the press, to play the preemptive blame game. If this fight doesn’t happen, they are effectively saying, it’s not our fault.

Besides, do we even know if Pacquiao or Mayweather want the fight? Last week, several reporters (myself included) tried to get Pacquiao to call Mayweather out. It didn’t work. All Pacquiao would say is that he would fight whatever opponent Arum put in front of him. Meanwhile, it seems the only member of Mayweather’s team who hasn’t said he wants a fight with Pacquiao is Mayweather himself. On Tuesday, I put in a request to talk to Mayweather through his publicist. I haven’t heard back.

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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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