Golden Boy VP: Manny Pacquiao has a deal to fight Adrien Broner

Earlier this year, the idea of Manny Pacquiao fighting Adrien Broner sounded like nothing more than fantasy matchmaking, after Top Rank head cheese Bob Arum declared "The Problem" unfit to chase "Pac Man" inside the squared circle.

Something Broner refused to take lying down.

bob arum bitch ass don't want to make the fight because he's upset I ain't sign with him when he tried to sell me a dream at his crib in LA

— Adrien Broner (@AdrienBroner) December 29, 2015

But now comes word that a potential Pacquiao vs. Broner fight is not only possible, but may already be set for later this year, as promoters look to find a potential opponent for Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

"We're close to finalizing an opponent," Golden Boy VP Eric Gomez told Boxing Scene (via Bloody Elbow). "We have a short list, we're very close. We'll be announcing it shortly but one of the guys we were interested in was Pacquiao. We'd love to do a Pacquiao fight but from what we hear, he has a deal to fight Adrien Broner."

So much for that short-lived retirement.

After a brutal 2012 fight campaign left him on the heels of back-to-back losses, Pacquiao, 37, rebounded with three consecutive wins, good enough to earn him a much-coveted super fight against undefeated icon Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Filipino came up short against "Money," but came back to win his trilogy with Timothy Bradley.

Does a Broner bout sound like something you might be interested in?