Manny Pacquiao news features HBO veteran analyst Harold Lederman's statements regarding Canelo Alvarez's possible refusal to fight "Pacman" at a catchweight as the analyst goes on to say that the Filipino boxing champ will give Floyd Mayweather a hard time.
Lederman spoke to Boxingscene.com about the Manny Pacquiao new, particularly his immediate future in boxing including the talks of a possible bout against the light middleweight contender.
"You look at him and you see Canelo's at least a 154-pounder," Lederman said. "He can't go below '54."
"There's no way he's going to come down to '52 to fight Manny," he continued. "You know, they can't make a catch-weight. Canelo's really a '54 pounder."
The intentions for a catch-weight fight arose after Manny Pacquiao's own trainer Freddie Roach brought up the idea. But the famed trainer also believes that being able to do so will not be that easy.
"I know (Canelo) came down to 152 for Mayweather, but it's a hard decision to make," Roach told Marcos Villegas of The Boxing Channel in an interview in late May.
Manny Pacquiao last fought in April, in a rematch with Timothy Bradley for the WBO welterweight title. Contrary to his performance when the two fighters first met in June 2012, "Pacman" was able to secure a dominant victory, which Lederman continued to give praises for.
"Manny is a sensational fighter," Lederman said. "I love the way he turns his opponents. You know, he's a southpaw and he keeps turning you."
"He turns this way. He turns that way. And in the meantime, he's hitting you," he continued.
Manny Pacquiao's stellar performances during his past two fights have somehow erased the stigma of his vicious knockout defeat in the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012.
This is why Harold Lederman believes that the eight-division world champion is back in the running to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a highly anticipated mega fight that has been talked about since 2009.
"You know, he's a very tough guy to fight," Lederman explained about the Manny Pacquiao news. "He'd be a great fight for Floyd Mayweather, because he'd have Floyd Mayweather turning in circles, undoubtedly. Floyd, of course, would have the advantage in hand speed, so, you know, it'd be a sensational fight."
