Bob Arum Denies Considering Robert Guerrero, Yuriorkis Gamboa For Manny Pacquiao’s Next Fight

Top Rank Promotions chief Bob Arum denied recent reports that they are seriously considering pitting Manny Pacquiao against Robert Guerrero or Yuriorkis Gamboa in his next fight.

In a recent interview that was reported by BoxingScene, Arum reiterated that the names of Guerrero and Gamboa were not even mentioned during his recent meeting with Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz.

The world-renowned promoter wondered where the news about a possible fight with Gamboa came from. Little did he know that the idea was brought up by Koncz himself in a separate BoxingScene interview.

The 32-year-old Cuban, who was a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, is coming off a convincing unanimous decision win over Darleys Perez, but earning a shot at a fighter of Pacquiao's caliber is highly unlikely despite having a perfect 23-0 record with 16 knockouts.

On the other hand, Guerrero's name has been floating in talks about the Filipino boxing icon's next fight after Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach brought up the idea.

Roach said that Guerrero could be Pacquiao's ticket to a blockbuster showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The 53-year-old trainer recently said that an impressive victory over Guerrero will give Pacquiao a better chance of forcing Mayweather to face him.

"Guerrero has sparred with Manny many times and he thinks he gets the best of Manny. He's made that public before that he used to beat Manny up in sparring. I see it a different way, but I would love that fight and I think it's a great fight. You know, he went the distance with Mayweather and I think if Manny knocks him out, it puts us even closer to the Mayweather fight," Roach said.

But with Arum shooting down the Pacquiao vs Guerrero talks, the rematch between Pacquiao and his old tormentor Timothy Bradley looks like the more logical choice for the camp of the reigning pound-for-pound king.

The 35-year-old former eight-division champion Pacquiao is reportedly pushing for a rematch with Bradley to avenge his controversial loss in their first showdown. The undefeated Bradley was clearly outworked by Pacquiao in their WBO welterweight title showdown in June 2012, but Bradley managed to escape with a highly questionable split decision victory.