Manny Pacquiao wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year, but the Filipino boxing icon might eventually settle for a fight against light middleweight contender Lucas Martin Matthysse in 2016.

Matthysse, who holds a 37-3 record with 34 of his victories coming by way of knockout, is coming off a majority decision win against former world champion Ruslan Provodnikov in a bloody showdown last month.

While the scorecards were close and the fight could have gone either way, Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya feels Matthysse deserves a shot against Pacquiao since the former pound-for-pound king is coming off a big loss in his fight against Mayweather.

According to BoxingScene, arranging the fight between Pacquiao and Matthysse is one of the top priorities of De La Hoya for next year.

Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi, who was critical of Pacquiao's performance against Mayweather, believes taking the fight against Matthysse will be a good move for the former eight-division world champion.

"Matthysse would be dynamite," Malignaggi told BoxingScene. "I think Manny can comeback with -- I don't want to say a soft opponent but a pretty good fighter. A solid guy then move to one of those big fights."

However, it remains to be seen whether or not the showdown will happen because recent reports indicated that Pacquiao will make a strong push to get a rematch against Mayweather.

Provodnikov is also lobbying for a rematch against Matthysse because he thinks he deserves another shot based on how close their first fight ended last month and how the fans enjoyed their action-packed showdown.

"It is my priority," Provodnikov told BoxingScene, referring to the rematch with Matthysse. "I think that is the fight the fans want to see. If the rematch was to happen there are certain things that we can do to make the fight even more exciting for the fans. Right now I don't want to say too much because we don't know if it will happen."

Matthysse could face Provodnikov again this year while waiting for Pacquiao to recover from a shoulder surgery, but a loss would hurt his chances of landing a bout against the Filipino boxing superstar.

Pacquiao, who dropped his record to 57-6-2 after losing to Mayweather, underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder last week. ESPN reported that Pacquiao cannot fight again for at least nine months.

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