Fans want Pacman to fight Barrera

While Manny Pacquiao doesn’t seem to be taking Marco Antonio Barrera’s offer seriously, die-hard fans of the Filipino boxing superstar certainly are.

Since Barrera, the reigning World Boxing Council super-featherweight champ, challenged Pacquiao to a fight a few days ago, Pacquiao fans have been asking for the Mexican’s hide.

The website mannypacquiao.ph is conducting an on-line poll where fans are being asked what they want Pacquiao to do now that Barrera has offered the Filipino a clear, immediate title shot.

The fans have three answers to choose from: for Pacquiao to drop Oscar Larios like a hot potato and fight Barrera immediately; for Pacquiao to take on Larios in June and face Barrera next; and for Pacquiao to fight Barrera only after the third match against Erik Morales in September.

After luring 3,619 votes in just three days, 56.3 percent of the fans want Pacquiao to drop his plans to fight Larios on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum and instead face Barrera around that same period.

Another 25.1 percent said Pacquiao should fight Larios as scheduled and then face Barrera next instead of Morales, while 18.7 percent of the voters want Pacquiao to fight Barrera only after the Morales bout in September.

Pacquiao plans to fight Larios, also a former world champion, as a tune-up to his third and deciding match with Morales, tentatively scheduled Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.

But Larios has reportedly backed off, citing the unstable political situation in the country, which is the same reason HBO or Home Box Office has decided against airing the July fight.

Pacquiao’s handlers are reportedly looking for a replacement for Larios. Pacquiao is scheduled to leave for the US on March 19 to finalize the details of the Manila bout to be aired by ABS-CBN.

By the time Pacquiao returns to Manila, a fight contract should have been signed either against Larios or any other fighter willing to take the place of the former 122 lb champion.

Once a contract for the July 2 fight is signed, Barrera will have no other choice but to wait in line — whether Pacquiao would fight him next or go for a third match with Morales.

Pacquiao defeated Barrera when they first met in November of 2003, scoring a sensational 11th round knockout, and is confident of the same result if and when a rematch takes place.

Pacquiao the other day laughed off Barrera’s challenge for a rematch, saying the Mexican is just trying to catch some attention after his failure to land the big fights despite the fact that he’s the champion.

"I really think he’s afraid of me," said Pacquiao, who has made close to $5 million in his last three fights, two of them against Morales and one against Hector Velasquez last September in Los Angeles.