Reports of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s negotiations stalling once again for a May 2 super fight are beginning to set the wheels in motion for backup plans. It has been widely speculated that Pacquiao will fight Amir Khan on May 30 if a deal with Mayweather can't be reached, but trainer Freddie Roach tossed out an intriguing name in a recent interview.
"Canelo Alvarez is a thought," Roach told Thaboxingvoice.com. "At 152 I like that fight. I think it's a great fight."
The idea of a Pacquiao-Alvarez fight comes out of left field, since Alvarez is a large 154-pound fighter who was slated to take on Miguel Cotto for the WBC middleweight title. Complicating matters further, Alvarez already has a deal in place to fight James Kirkland on May 2. Should Mayweather vs. Pacquiao happen, the fight will be rescheduled, but Kirkland is still the opponent.
Roach also talked about Khan, but expressed concerns about dealing with Khan adviser Al Haymon.
"Amir Khan is being talked about somewhat, but he's with Al Haymon and if we can't get Mayweather because of Al Haymon the same thing might happen with Amir Khan. So, he doesn't want to go outside of his boundaries. The pool gets small."
Khan reportedly had a recent meeting with Pacquiao and his adviser Michael Koncz in London however, and spoke optimistically about a possible Pacquiao fight.
"Koncz invited me to see them when I was in London, maybe for a cup of tea. Michael was saying that if the Mayweather fight didn't work out 'Manny would like to fight you. It would sell.' We're both chasing Mayweather, but if it doesn't happen why not fight each other?" Khan said.
"We had a good meeting and Manny and Michael said they would definitely consider the fight. They had actually contacted me before the Alexander fight asking me if I might be interested. I said 'Yeah but I have my hands full with Alexander so let's talk later.'"
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