8 Jan 2010

New Pacquiao opponent to be named within days

5:26 pm on 8 January 2010

Welterweight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is expected to name an opponent for a March fight this week after his bout with American Floyd Mayweather Jr. fell through.

Pacquiao's promoters say they still expect the Filipino to fight in March despite the fall out with Mayweather, and expect to confirm a new oponent within the next few days.

The highly-anticipated boxing match between the two fighters was called off when both camps failed to reach an agreement over random blood doping tests, despite hours of mediation.

Mayweather refused to fight the current welterweight title-holder unless Pacquiao agreed to undergo random blood and urine sampling during the match lead-up.

The Filipino agreed to blood tests before the first media conference and immediately after the fight, but refused to have blood drawn within 30 days of the fight.