Pacquiao: Manny should fight Malignaggi next if Mayweather refuses

Obviously, the big fight everyone wants to see is Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao. Manny and his promoter, Top Rank, are seemingly doing all they can to get Floyd to bite.

But what if Mayweather decides to face Amir Khan instead?

What are PacMan's options?

Canelo Alvarez may be a stretch but he'll likely face Miguel Cotto anyway this spring. And Juan Manuel Marquez wants no piece of PacMan while Manny has already defeated Tim Bradley (twice according to most).

Marcos Miadana has lost two in a row and former stablemate Amir Khan faces Devon Alexander next week.

So who is left?

Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Robert Guerrero, Danny Garcia, Jessie Vargas and the popular Lucas Matthysse.

There aren't any 'big name' opponents available as Broner and Matthysse are pseudo big names, at best.

Controversy sells, and a high-profile former champion is making a strong case for himself as a possible (albeit longshot) next opponent for Pacquiao.

Step back Floyd, JMM and Brads, Manny may have a new arch-rival.

Over the last several months, Paulie Malignaggi has bashed Pacquiao time and time again. And last night, Malignaggi sent ripples through the boxing world insisting Pacquiao be competitive in a fight with Mayweather.

“Here’s the problem, anyone with a brain knows that this fight isn’t even competitive," Malignaggi told ThaBoxingVoice.com. Manny knows that this fight isn’t even competitive."

But that wasn't the first time Paulie poked Pacquiao. Last summer he hinted PacMan's rise to prominence may have been fueled by Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), despite Manny's willingness to comply to all forms of testing today.

"... Until I see a destructive Pacquiao performance for a fight in which he submitted to random testing I will not give [him] credit," Paulie tweeted.

Perhaps things should be settled in the ring?

"I'd MUCH rather see Pacquiao vs Malignaggi than Manny vs Algieri or Jessie Vargas," stated prominent boxing radio show host Joseph Herron.

So, would Showtime allow one of its commentators to fight on HBO, its rival network? In 1996, then Showtime commentator Bobby Czyz fought Evander Holyfield on HBO. There were seemingly no issues then.

And let's face it, PPV revenue generated from Pacquiao vs Malignaggi would exceed purse sums generated by Manny vs Algieri and likely eclipse expected numbers for a showdown with Vargas.

Should we add Malignaggi to the short list of possible opponents for Pacquiao? Manny probably wouldn't mind.