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Philippines, 04 Sep 2010 |
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ABU DHABI ASKS FOR TWO DAYS EXTENSION By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Thu, 29 Jul 2010 Abu Dhabi, one of the cities interested in hosting pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao’s showdown with Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC light middleweight title on November 13 has asked for an extension of two days before deciding on a proposal submitted by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz. Koncz who together with Arum met with representatives of the United Arab Emirates Royal Family in the US some weeks ago said the representative called and requested for a two-day extension although Arum has indicated he doubts whether the Abu Dhabi deal would push through despite the seeming optimism of Koncz. Arum told us that aside from Monterrey, Mexico other sites that have expressed interest in staging the fight were Dallas, Texas where Pacquiao drew almost 51,000 fans to the Cowboy’s Stadium for his fight against Joshua Clottey last November and the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. Arum said several interested parties are “coming out of the woodwork” wanting to host the Pacquiao-Margarito showdown although Aum himself appeared to be leaning towards Las Vegas and is hoping Margarito can get a license to fight in Nevada. Having been told by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to first get cleared by the California State Athletic Commission which suspended him for one year for using illegal hand-wraps, Margarito has followed the NSAC advice and applied to the California Commission for a license even though Arum has said he has no intention of fighting in California. Arum told the Los Angeles Times that they had “asked this (application for reinstatement) to be heard on an expedited basis” before the Commission’s next meeting which is scheduled for September 20. Arum, in mentioning other interested sites said the Commissions in these jurisdictions indicated they would sanction a Pacquiao-Margarito fight even if California acted on Margarito’s request and licensed him. Pacquiao has said he thinks a Margarito fight would be a good fight and that he would like to fight in Mexico where he has many fans. In fact, Pacquiao was treated like a king during a brief vacation with his family in the picturesque province of Nayarit some weeks ago when governor Ney Gonzalez and well known promoter Fernando Beltran were his hosts. Koncz told us he would wait for word from Abu Dhabi before leaving Los Angeles for Manila on Friday by which time he would have concrete proposals for Pacquiao’s approval. Meantime, Pacquiao’s first trainer Rich Stehely says tax issues and the legal problems facing his uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather may have caused Floyd Mayweather Jr not to fight pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao on the planned November 13 date at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. American trainer Stehely who helped Pacquao win his first world title with a spectacular 8th round knockout of Thai hero Chatchai Sasakul on the outskirts of Bangkok in December 1998 told us that he had heard a few things that “the pending court case of Roger which may not be bailable and if they were going to fight in November he couldn’t train Floyd Mayweather Jr.’ Stehely also mentioned tax issues is Mayweather fights again in calendar year 2010 is going to cost him a lot more money.” It was what Floyd Mayweather Sr mentioned in an interview with Percy Crawford of FightHype even as he insisted that Mayweather was not at all scared of Pacquiao and that the Pacquiao fight will still happen. Mayweather Sr appeared far more subdued when he was quoted as saying “The fight’s gonna still happen. I’m pretty sure about that. It may not happen right away this year, but it’s going to happen” Mayweather Sr claimed that the recent tax problems that Floyd had earlier this year were the motivating factor in his decision to forego fighting later this year. He said “One thing for sure is Floyd is not scared of Pacquiao. That’s one thing for sure. Everybody needs to get that straight; that’s straight and to the point. Floyd is not scared of Pacquiao. That’s the last guy he’s scared of in boxing, but the whole thing is, man, the money Lil Floyd done made and the money he would get fighting Pacquiao, think about it.” Elaborating on the fear of the taxes that would be imposed by the Internal Revenue Service Mayweather Sr indicated this is what prevented the biggest fight in boxing taking place in November. He told FightHype “Make a million dollars in one year and see what Uncle Sam gonna do to you. So that’s what I’m talking about. Make $100 million in one year and see what Uncle Sam gonna do.” Referring to Mayweather’s last fight against Shane Mosley, Mayweather Sr that the tax take was like “he ain’t never fought Shane. I’m telling you the real deal of how it is. That is the only reason they didn’t make the fight.” Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz. Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles: |
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