THERE’S NO SIGNED DEAL YET, BUT BOTH Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey have reportedly agreed in principle to do battle on March 13 at the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum told Sports Illustrated Friday that the Filipino ring icon will be staking his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against Clottey, who lost to Pacquiao victim Miguel Cotto via a controversial split decision last June 13.

Another website reported that the 33-year-old Clottey (35 wins, 3 losses with 20 KOs) was ecstatic after being informed of the fight with Pacquiao and is returning to the United States from his hometown Accra, Ghana, Monday.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael further substantiated the Pacquiao-Clottey encounter in the studio in Friday Night Fight, according to badlefthook.com.

The report added that Top Rank’s honchos, led by Arum, will be the guests of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during the Cowboys’ National Football League Wild Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) at the Cowboys Stadium which can accommodate 111,000 people.

In the same SI.com article, Arum stressed that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is no longer being considered as a probable Pacquiao opponent and that he isn’t negotiating with Team Mayweather anymore.

Despite Arum’s statement though, the Mayweather camp, with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer at the helm, is scrambling to save what could be the richest boxing fight ever.

A report by Michael Marley at Examiner.com also said that a PPV network was given the “heads-up” to keep its March 13 and March 20 dates open for the possibility of Pacquiao-Mayweather pushing through.

According to various Internet reports, this weekend will be crucial as both camps try to find a way to salvage the super bout that was stalled due to disagreements over drug-testing protocols.

Mayweather has received a brunt of the blame for the collapse of the so-called “Fight of the Century,” but the undefeated superstar, in a statement, shifted the blame to Pacquiao, saying that his camp came up with a compromise that the Filipino boxer refused.

Pacquiao had earlier turned down a fight with super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman because of size concerns.