Manny Pacquiao next fight Canelo Alvarez? Oscar De La Hoya extends 'olive branch' to Bob Arum, boxing Cold War thawing? [VIDEO]

ByRaimundo Ortiz @AroundtheMundo | Apr 23, 2014 09:25 AM EDT

Tags: Manny Pacquiao , canelo alvarez , boxing , cold war , oscar de la hoya , golden boy , top rank , Bob Arum

After Manny Pacquiao outclassed Timothy Bradley earlier this month, it became painfully obvious that outside of a fifth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, there really weren't any viable opponents for Pacman within the current stable of Top Rank talent.

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Top Rank, which has its fights televised on HBO, and Golden Boy Promotions, whose fights air on Showtime, have been in a "Cold War" of sorts for years now. This war has come at the cost of many fans, and endlessly torments the diehards that stick around. It's also largely responsible for Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. failing to face off in their primes.

Don't expect a Cotto-Pacquiao rematch

Now, though, Arum and Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya might be coming together to organize a blockbuster involving Pacquiao and Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez. A melding of promotions with names this big could be a major step toward mending fences.

"Anything's possible," De La Hoya said of Pacquiao-Alvarez. "That's one of the reasons I was extending the olive branch. The fans want to see these kinds of fights." Arum was similarly congenial when asked about Oscar, saying "I'd be happy to talk to Oscar about any subject in boxing he wishes to talk to me about.

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"All this baloney about a cold war has never really applied to Oscar and myself. We can talk bout any subject in boxing rationally. ... We might disagree on a particular point, but we can talk. I hope we'll get together and have some significant meetings in the near future."

Canelo-Lara an "even-money" match according to Golden Boy CEO

De La Hoya's name being involved in talks is another good sign, as he was out of commission for some time due to substance abuse issues. He was not present for Alvarez's fight vs. Mayweather, one of the biggest fights in boxing history.

"I was dealing with personal issues, but I'm back," De La Hoya said. "Golden Boy is my baby. Boxing is my passion, boxing is my life. This is what I'll be focusing on, growing the brand, making the fights people want to see."

Fans might be wise not to scoff at this particular rumor, as both Arum and De La Hoya went back-and-forth in a lovefest of comments. One quote in particular seemed to be a jab from De La Hoya at Mayweather, who operates on his own but is closely integrated with Golden Boy.

"If anyone with Golden Boy has any differences with Bob, it's on them," De La Hoya said. "I have nothing against Bob and I feel making fights with Bob is beneficial to the fans and the market."

Can Pacquiao defeat Canelo? Make your pick @SportsWN