Boxing: Pacquiao set for April tune-up

Gacal says they will not let Pacquiao go up against Marquez just yet.

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is already giving thoughts to his return to the ring in the aftermath of his shocking loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December, according to ABS-CBN news. A return in April seems to be in the box according to Pacquiao’s legal adviser Franklin Gacal. But Gacal said they will not let Pacquiao go up against Marquez just yet. “April is too early for that,” saud Gacal. “We will get there. Manny needs to fight someone else to rebuild his confidence.” If the results of the April encounter are good, Gacal said they would arrange a fifth face-off between Pacquiao and Marquez in September. “First, he wants to fight in April.” Meanwhile, Fred Sternburg, Top Rank’s publicist, clarified that Pacquiao’s mandatory suspension following his sixth-round knockout last December will only last for 90 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2013.