Pacquiao Looks to Margarito, Cotto After Mayweather Passes
By wchung | 07 Aug, 2026

Manny Pacquiao will start looking for another opponent for his next bout now that promoter Bob Arum’s deadline for a deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr. has passed.

Arum said early Saturday morning that Mayweather hadn’t responded to their contract proposal. Pacquiao will open discussions with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto for a fight in November.

Arum still holds out hope Mayweather will agree to what could be the richest fight in boxing history, but he couldn’t wait any longer to start the time-consuming process of putting together a fight for Pacquiao.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are the top two stars in boxing, and a meeting likely would be worth more than $40 million to each fighter. They’ve discussed a bout for nearly a year, but haven’t made a deal.

GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer