Pacquiao eyes next fight in Malaysia in May or June

Philippine boxing idol Manny Pacquiao said his next opponent would be either world champion Lucas Matthysse or Danny Garcia in Malaysia in May or June, after rejecting an undercard offer to face Mike Alvarado.

Pacquiao told ABS-CBN television in an interview aired Tuesday that his camp had narrowed the choices down to WBA welterweight champion Matthysse, of Argentina, or the American former WBA super welterweight and WBC welterweight champ Garcia, who was unbeaten until last year.

“Definitely, Malaysia is where we will fight. If not May, this coming June, maybe third week of June, so the preparation will not conflict with my work,” said Pacquiao, who is also a senator.

Last week Pacquiao, 39, rejected an offer to fight on the undercard of the Jeff HornTerence Crawford fight in the US in April. Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, previously said he was eyeing an April date with Ukraine’s WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko during a break from his senatorial duties.

Asked why he would fight in Malaysia, Pacquiao said “because those in Malaysia appealed to also have a fight there.”

Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines but there have been growing questions about whether the aging boxer can still command the mammoth paydays that his fights used to earn.