Marcos Maidana lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. twice this year, but trainer Robert Garcia said that they are still looking for big fights next year, and Manny Pacquiao is on top of their list.
Garcia said that Maidana, who pushed Mayweather to the limit in their first fight before being dominated in the second bout, is considering several options, but the showdown against Pacquiao is their top priority at this point.
"There are so many fights out there. If you ask Chino he wants to fight Manny Pacquiao," Garcia told Tha Boxing Voice. "It's all up to his management team to do something right, but there're a lot of big fights out there."
Golden Boy Promotions, who has a promotional contract with Maidana, has shown willingness to work with Top Rank Promotions, which means that the fight between the Argentine and Pacquiao could be an option next year.
However, Pacquiao, who is coming off an impressive win against Chris Algieri last month, is reportedly focused on arranging a showdown with Mayweather after the unbeaten pound-for-pound king declared that he is ready to face his main rival on May 2 next year.
If the fight against Pacquiao fails to materialize, Garcia said that they will also take a look at the possibility of facing Amir Khan in a rematch or collide with Keith Thurman.
Maidana, who holds a 35-5 record with 31 knockout wins, took a unanimous decision loss to Khan in their World Boxing Association light welterweight title fight in December 2010.
The 31-year-old Buenos Aires, Argentina native was supposed to face Thurman in 2012, but the proposed showdown between them was cancelled. Maidana's camp cited an injury, but reports also suggested that the former welterweight champion was just not interested in facing Thurman.
Thurman called out Maidana after winning against Leonard Bundu last week. But for Sebastian Contursi, Maidana's manager, Thurman still needs to prove that he belongs to the elites despite having a perfect 24-0 record with 21 knockouts.
"We all respect Thurman as a great prospect but we think he still belongs to a different league for now," Contursi said via ESPN. "With all due respect, he needs to prove himself against the likes of Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Victor Ortiz or Robert Guerrero."
