Who Will Manny Pacquiao Really Face in 2016?

Manny Pacquiao is expected to make his much awaited return by early 2016, assuming he finally gets official medical clearance from his doctor concerning his right shoulder.

The wise money sees Pacquiao easily getting that and Bob Arum finally buckling down to work to make the fight happen by early2016.

Initially, the frontrunner to face the Filipino boxing icon was believed to be Amir Khan, Pacquiao’s former sparring mate. Both camps have been talking and plans for a Pacquiao vs. Khan fight were already in the air even before the PacMan took on Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May 2.

Before September came to a close, Arum himself mentioned via The Telegraph that Khan was the no. 1 target for Pacquiao’s return bout.

“We were planning for Manny Pacquiao to fight at the end of February, or at the latest, the first two weeks in April,” Arum said, citing Khan as the No.  1 target. “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.

Remember that at that time, there was only one man (based on reports) that seems to be against Khan, Michael Koncz.

However, it seems that Koncz has backpedalled on that claim and is reportedly now on board to make the fight happen.

Now, it seems that Bob Arum is the one backpedalling, injecting Argentine boxer Lucas Matthysse into the picture and further stating that Khan is not the frontrunner as Pacquiao’s return bout opponent in 2016.

“There’s certainly been discussions with him (Khan) but I wouldn’t say he’s the frontrunner” says Arum via Boxingscene.com.

The latest word from Arum does come in conflict with his first revelation but the best bet is to wait and see how Matthysse fares in his scheduled match with Viktor Postol.

It should be noted that Arum is represents Postol and will be on hand when the two fighters face off for the vacant WBC 140-pound belt this coming Saturday (October 3) at the StubHub Center in California.

The thought alone should be extra motivation for Matthysse to come up with a credible showing against Postol.

With that in mind, where does the situation leave Khan? Will he be in for another shunning as he had when Mayweather opted to face Andre Berto instead of the British southpaw?

Chances are the official opponent for Pacquiao will be known after October 3. Right now, there are two names on the table. On who gets the nod remains to be seen.