UNABLE to say no to Bob Arum, newly-minted Senator Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement to hype up one of his longtime American promoter?s boxing cards scheduled either in late October or early November.
Arum told Los Angeles Times boxing writer Lance Pugmire in a story posted on the newspaper?s website yesterday that he had arranged an Oct. 15 date for Pacquiao?s return to the ring.
?He conferred with the president of the Philippine Senate (Franklin Drilon), who gave him permission to fight, but the 15th was turned down because the Senates need to do the (national) budget,? Arum said. ?So now we need to get the date that coincides with the schedule, Oct. 29 or Nov. 5 (both Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, respectively, in Manila).?
Arum added that Pacquiao?s likely opponent would be the winner between World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford and his World Boxing Council counterpart, Victor Postol, who will clash on June 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Arum said that potential candidates to face Pacquiao, who will be fighting as a welterweight, are Danny Garcia and Jesse Vargas, the WBC and WBO reigning titlists, respectively, with four-division champ Adrien Boner as an ?outsider.?
?Broner had very big demands that economically I can?t meet,? Arum was quoted as saying. ?He didn?t do anything wrong, other than asking for a number that?s out of the question.?
Broner, who held world championships in the super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight and welterweight divisions, was reputedly asking $10 million to take on the Filipino ring icon.
Pacquiao owes Arum a huge debt of gratitude, arranging majority of his prime time fights that earned him hundreds of millions in dollars.
His biggest payday was $180 million in his much-hyped yet disappointing encounter with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him via a lopsided unanimous decision that netted the American a $220-million bonanza.
Pacquiao later revealed that he was hampered by an injured right shoulder, which got hurt in sparring in the buildup to the fight and was re-injured during the course of the match.
Pacquiao earned $20 million in his last match against Tim Bradley, whom he beat handily by a unanimous decision last March, before focusing on his successful election campaign that gained him a Senate seat.
After winning a Senate seat, the former eight-division world division champion declared that he was calling it a day to devote his focus full time as a public servant.
Arum, however said that Michael Koncz, Pacquiao?s Canadian business manager and confidante, had talked to the boxer and quoted Pacman as saying that he was itching to go back into the ring.
?Manny?s primary concern and obligation is to fulfill his senatorial duties,? Koncz said in a separate interview with ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael ?But he just misses (boxing). He misses the training. He misses being in the gym. You can see when he trains it?s like a stress reliever for him.
?His mood changes. It?s like he?s in happy land. So I am working with Bob and Manny is working closely with the Senate president to make sure the dates are OK. We?re doing this properly.?
Arum said his main hurdle now is to find a suitable venue for the HBO pay-per-view bout because MGM Grand president Richard Sturm had told him that the MGM?s arenas ? T-Mobile, MGM Grand and Mandalay ? were all reportedly booked for prospective fight dates.
Pop singer Kanye West was scheduled to hold a concert at the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 29 while the Professional Bull Riders tour was next in the succeeding week, according to Arum.
?I?ve got to get a building,? said Arum, who was looking at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas as an alternative venue.
A victory by Pacquiao, who has a ring record of 58 wins, 38 by knockout, three losses and two draws, might just spark talks of a rematch with Mayweather.
?I could see that (rematch) happening next year,? Carl Moretti, Top Rank matchmaker, said.
