Even though Manny Pacquiao retired from boxing in 2016, he was unable to shake off the bug and returned to the ring later in the year to defeat Jessie Vargas – and the big names keep on coming.

Terence Crawford, Mikey Garcia and Keith Thurman are all potential opponents down the line, while we were also agonisingly close to seeing Pac Man in action against Britain’s Amir Khan; only for that to fall through.

JEFF HORN

So, it came as no surprise that eyebrows were raised when Top Rank promoter Bob Arum revealed that his prized asset would be going up against the relatively unknown Jeff Horn from Australia, with the two set to meet on July 2 in Brisbane.

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Assuming Pacquiao comes out of the bout unscathed and avoids a mammoth upset, attention will once more turn the key names in One Time, Garcia and Bud – all three of whom are unbeaten.

However, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has other ideas.

Speaking to On The Ropes Boxing Radio, the esteemed boxing coach revealed that their priority is to land a high-profile rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr, following the unanimous decision loss back in 2015 and he is still holding out for the second contest to happen.

REMATCH

According to Boxing Scene, Roach said: “Mikey Garcia’s brother came to see me a couple of weeks ago and challenged me and asked if Manny would fight Mikey Garcia.

“I love that fight but I don’t have final say in that. We’re looking for a big fight after this one, but we need to get this guy out of the way first.

“I would love for that [Mayweather rematch] to happen, but it seems like he’s stuck on [Conor] McGregor right now.

“I’m unsure what’s going to happen right there because I don’t think the sports mix that well, McGregor would have to take five years to fight Mayweather.

“Mayweather is a very crafty boxer and we would love to get him one more time, but that remains to be seen.

“Garcia is a big name, Crawford is a big name. There’s some really good guys out there, but of course, Mayweather is still at the top of the list I think. There’s a lot of good guys out there for us to fight and I think Manny can still contend with all of those guys.”

Roach also made another bold claim not too long ago, stating if Pacquiao was 100% in the first fight then he’d have beaten Money.

However, with Mayweather claiming he’s only coming out of retirement for the Notorious in a mega-money super fight, the Filipino might be waiting quite a while before talks of a rematch come about – if ever.

Would you rather see Floyd Mayweather fight Manny Pacquiao or Conor McGregor? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.

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