Pacquiao Opponent Coming Soon

We already know that former eight-division titleholder Manny Pacquiao is scheduled to fight on April 12 and headline an HBO PPV card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. What we don't know is who exactly the Filipino congressman will be swapping punches with.

The next step in that process comes Saturday when Top Rank promoter Bob Arum meets at his Los Angeles home with Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz.

"We are down to business now," Arum told ESPN.com on Friday. "Michael is coming over to my house and there will certainly be progress made on Manny's next fight. Then I need some time to finalize a deal with the opponent. I think we will select the opponent [on Saturday] and then I will go close a deal with that guy."

In the running are welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr., who owns a massively controversial split-decision win against Pacquiao in June 2012, and newly crowned junior welterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov, who used to be one of Pacquiao's sparring partners.

If Provodnikov, who lost a decision to Bradley in the 2013 fight of the year and then stopped Mike Alvarado in October to win a 140-pound title, gets the fight, he will be looking for a new trainer because he and Pacquiao share Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, and it's inconceivable that Roach would go with Provodnikov over Pacquiao.

Arum said there have already been conversations with the Bradley and Provodnikov camps about a potential fight with Pacquiao.

One man who isn't in the running to face the PacMan, according to Arum, is Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao's great rival. They have fought four times in memorable battles, including Marquez's lone victory, a resounding knockout in their last fight in December 2012. While Pacquiao is interested in a fifth fight, Marquez is not.

More: http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/7037/pacquiao-opponent-coming-soon