Team Pacquiao leaning towards fight vs Larios

With Manny Pacquiao hinting at vacating his IBF 122-lb crown and a planned bout with Paulie Ayala or Juan Manuel Marquez being jeopardized by the recent FBI raid on Top Rank offices in New York, Oscar Larios could be the Filipino champion’s next foe.

After deciding to forgo his US trip this Thursday, Pacquiao has virtually vacated the IBF super bantamweight championship since failure to honor the boxing body’s order for his mandatory defense against Jose Luis Valbuena to a purse bid on Jan. 16 in New Jersey would mean the IBF will strip him of his crown.

Citing the recent raid by the FBI and the New York Police on Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions, which handles Ayala and Marquez, and the hospitalization of Pacquiao’s business manager Rod Nazario over the weekend, Team Pacquiao postponed its US jaunt where it was supposed to meet with US promoter Murad Muhammad, HBO bigwigs and Arum to discuss Pacquiao’s next fight.

In its report yesterday, Boxingtalk.com has guaranteed Pacquiao will vacate his IBF title while adding that the next fight for the Filipino southpaw could be a featherweight showdown against unified champion Marquez or Larios, the reigning WBC (World Boxing Council) 122-lb champion.

But Boxingtalk.com stressed that Larios could have the inside track on Pacquiao since Marquez is under Top Rank, Inc., whose days in the boxing business "could be numbered" due to its alleged malfeasance on its past promotions.

The report added that Larios, according to the WBC, would be able to fight Pacquiao even at 126 (featherweight) because his mandatory is not yet due.

Larios, the hard-hitting 27-year-old find from Guadalajara, Mexico, actually challenged Pacquiao to a unification bout for the super bantamweight title after dispatching Napopol Kiattisakchocchoi via a 10th round TKO win in Los Angeles last November.

"I wanted to go to 126 pounds to fight (Marco Antonio) Barrera. But now that Pacquiao won, I want to face him so we can unify the titles at 122 pounds. I know that it will be a difficult fight because he hits hard, but I have the hunger to win," Larios said.

Larios, the 27-year-old fighter with an orthodox style, has won 21 of his last 22 bouts, the lone loss a controversial decision loss to Willie Jorrin. He packs a 51-3-1 (win-loss-draw) record with 36 knockouts.