Ruslan Provodnikov is one of the fighters being considered as the next opponent of Manny Pacquiao, but the reigning World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion said that he has no interest in fighting the former pound-for-pound king.

Provodnikov is a good friend of Pacquiao and was actually at ringside for Pacquiao's bout against Brandon Rios on Saturday at the Cotai Arena in Macau.

The Russian champion, who revealed that he was nervous watching the fight because Pacquiao's knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez is still fresh on his mind, said that not fighting Pacquiao is the right thing to do.

"I was very worried about Pacquiao in the fight. My hands were shaking. It was the kind of nervous feeling as if I was going into a fight. Every punch Pacquiao got away from, I was nervous. But it was good that Pacquiao won all of the rounds. For me, I don't want to fight Pacquiao and I think I'm doing the right thing," Provodnikov told Boxingscene.

When asked who he wants to face in his next bout, the 29-year-old Russian said that he is ready to face Rios at 147 pounds since the American brawler announced after his loss on Saturday that he will not fight at 140 again.

"Rios said he doesn't want to go back down to 140 that he wants to stay at 147. I'm ready, I can go up to 147, that's not a problem. But I'll say it again, I don't want to fight with Manny. I don't need that fight," Provodnikov said.

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is also hoping that Provodnikov and Pacquiao will not be pitted against each other. Citing his close relationship with both boxers, Roach said seeing Pacquiao and Provodnikov fight would be would be heartbreaking.

Roach, who trains both fighters, said that a fight with Provodnikov is the third-best option for Pacquiao — next to the potential record-breaking showdown with Floyd Mayweather and rematch with Marquez — but he is still keeping his fingers crossed that the proposed showdown will not materialize.

"I hope that fight doesn't happen because I don't want to lose either of them, because both of them are friends," Roach told Spin.ph. "That fight probably is the next best thing out there, besides Mayweather Jr. and the rematch of course [with Juan Manuel Marquez]."