The Filipino icon, 46, announced last week that he will be returning to the ring to fight in Las Vegas on January 24.

Pacquiao is expected to confirm his opponent imminently, and WBA welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero was the frontrunner to face him.

However, the WBA has now ordered Romero to defend his belt against mandatory challenger, Shakhram Giyasov.

Romero and Giyasov’s teams have been given a 30-day negotiation period which ends on November 13.

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Amanda Westscott

Giyasov won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and is unbeaten in 17 fights as a professional.

Should Romero take the Giyasov fight, this would push back or potentially completely scupper a proposed clash with Pacquiao.

Alternatively, he could still opt to take on Pacquiao but would be at risk of being stripped of his title.

A third option would be for Romero to try and agree a step aside deal with Giyasov, allowing him to box Pacquiao if the winner then faces the undefeated Uzbek star next.

Pacquiao has also been linked with fights against Gervonta Davis and Conor Benn, but both men already have their next bouts lined up.

Davis will meet YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an exhibition fight on November 14 before Benn faces Chris Eubank Jr in their highly anticipated rematch the following night.

Pacquiao may now have to wait to see how Romero, Davis and Benn’s respective situations play out before picking his next opponent.

He made a remarkable comeback after a four-year layoff in July to hold WBC welterweight titlist Mario Barrios to a draw.

Pacquiao already has the record for being the oldest world champion ever at 147lbs after beating Keith Thurman at the age of 40 in 2019.

He came within a whisker of rewriting the history books against Barrios and now appears to fancy his chances if he can get his hands on Romero, who shocked Ryan Garcia in his last outing in May.

Pacquiao will celebrate his 47th birthday in December and is still going strong but now faces a nervous wait to see whether his next fight will be for a world title or not.

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