Pacquiao vs Matthysse? That's not gonna happen, Arum says

Will Manny Pacquiao get his wish to fight world welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse next? Promoter Bob Arum doesn’t think so.

Instead, the Top Rank Inc. head honcho is pushing the 8-division champion to fight Mike Alvarado on April 14.

“We’re making progress on it,” Arum said in an article on BoxingScene.com. “I’m gonna talk to Michael [Koncz] tonight and hopefully wrap it all up.”

Pacquiao has already expressed his intention to fight Matthysse of Argentina.

“I want Matthysse,” Pacquiao said in a previous report. “This is the fight that I like, a fight fans would also like to see. I can fight in April or even May."

• READ: Arum says Pacquiao wants to fight in the Big Apple

But Arum has another option in mind.

“I see he has talked about fighting Matthysse,” said the veteran boxing promoter, “but that’s not gonna happen.”

Arum apparently wants to keep the fight in-house as he promotes both Pacquiao and Alvarado. Matthysse, meanwhile, is handled by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

Meanwhile, Arum said Pacquiao won’t be making his comeback in New York as initially planned.

The ESPN pay-per-view show card that will feature Pacquiao and the welterweight title clash between Terence Crawford and Jeff Horn is headed to Las Vegas.

Arum said there are so many events happening in New York in the weeks leading up to the April 14 card.

“It’s a bit much, even for New York, particularly with all the stuff going on at Barclays,” Arum said. “For us to come there in March, April and May, that’s a lot.”

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