Pastor Quiboloy.
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao's comeback fight, following a shoulder injury he suffered in his fight against American Floyd Mayweather, could be held in the Philippines early next year.
Filipino religious leader Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, who has thrown his support to Filipino boxers by establishing the Sonshine Sports Management, has earlier indicated that he would like to see his friend, Pacquiao, stage one of his last few fights in his home country.
"My dream really is to have Manny fight in his home country before he retires," said Quiboloy whose congregation, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, is building the King Dome, a 65,000-seat capacity religious worship and sports centre in Davao City.
Former North Cotabato Governor Manny Pi?ol, who has partnered with Pastor Quiboloy in the boxing undertaking and has been designated Chief Executive Officer of Sonshine Sports Management, said that there were already direct talks with Manny Pacquiao regarding a Philippine fight but these were superseded by the sudden announcement of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.
"I was already given the go-signal by Pastor Quiboloy to talk with Manny regarding the fight. In fact, we held two meetings shortly after the Chris Algieri fight," the former Governor said.
He said the talks were suspended when Mayweather suddenly announced that he was willing to face Pacquiao and scheduled the fight for May 2 this year.
The names of Amir Khan and American fighter Pauli Malinaggi were mentioned during the negotiations, Pi?ol said.
"Since the King Dome may not yet be ready for an early 2016 fight, the proposed Pacquiao-Khan or Pacquiao-Malinaggi bout could be held in a bigger venue in Metro Manila," he said.
Pastor Quiboloy, who is a die-hard boxing fan, is very excited about the prospect of allowing Filipinos to see Manny Pacquiao in action live in the Philippines, the former Governor said.
"We will restart the talks soon so that we might be able to come up with something right after the doctors would allow Manny to fight again," Pi?ol said.
(Photo caption: Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy willing to support staging of Pacquiao fight in the Philippines. File Photo)
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