Leave it to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum to pick up the pieces and put them together after the effort to land a big-money fight for WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in Dubai fell through.
Pacquiao is ticketed to fight twice this year and Arum initially announced the first outing will be against Australia?s Jeff Horn in Brisbane on April 23. The money, however, wasn?t too enticing although it?s bigger than what Pacquiao got for wresting the WBO title from Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas last November. The scuttlebutt was Pacquiao received anywhere from $4 to $6 Million for taking on Vargas. Since Top Rank self-produced the fight on pay-per-view, it saved on the fee that would?ve gone to either HBO or Showtime as providers. That meant more money to go around and with 300,000 hits at $59.99 for standard definition and $69.99 for high definition, Pacquiao could?ve walked away with $5 Million added to his purse.
While money is always a motivation, Pacquiao didn?t seem to care about what was placed on the table in fighting Vargas. More important for Pacquiao was the chance to regain the world title because it didn?t make sense for him to continue fighting without a championship belt around his waist.
Arum got Horn?s backers to put up $5 Million for Pacquiao. With some haggling, the ante was upped to $7 Million. If the pay-per-view numbers come through, Pacquiao would likely end up with as much as he bankrolled in the Vargas fight. So Pacquiao?s adviser Mike Koncz went out to find a better deal and hooked up with the Dubai Tourism Authority on his own. Arum was not in the picture as Koncz ventured to the Emirates to arrange a more lucrative guarantee.
Pacquiao was told that Dubai would put up $38 Million for the fighting Senator to stake his crown against England?s Amir Khan. Arum heard of it and didn?t believe Dubai would deliver but said if the cash is ready for the taking, Pacquiao shouldn?t hesitate to sign up. When contacted to check his availability, Khan said he wouldn?t back down from facing his former sparmate. Khan is coming off a devastating sixth round knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas last May and the offer to fight Pacquiao was like manna from heaven. He couldn?t be luckier to land a big money fight after a crushing setback.
Then, the roof caved in on the Dubai deal. As Uncle Bob foresaw, Dubai couldn?t walk the talk. The shallow reason was Dubai couldn?t do it because of Ramadan which this year, falls between May 27 and June 24. Whatever the excuse for aborting the negotiations, poor Khan was left out in the cold. Dean’s Corner ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
With the Dubai option out the window, Uncle Bob came to the rescue as he always does in the end. If Pacquiao wanted to do a fight in the first half of the year, Arum still had Horn available and Australia ready to cough up at least $7 Million. Pacquiao eventually agreed to battle Horn at the 52,500-seat SunCorp Stadium in Brisbane on July 2. The champion said he?ll make short work of Horn but the unbeaten Australian was unfazed. Horn said he won?t waste the chance of a lifetime to take down a legend before his adoring countrymen.
Pacquiao is more concerned about the legacy he?ll leave behind as a prizefighter than anything else. According to Forbes Magazine, he?s earned about $500 Million from boxing so whatever he picks up in the twilight of his ring career will be like loose change.
What makes beating Horn important for Pacquiao is it will mean sealing a big farewell fight against a marquee opponent at the end of the year. A loss to Horn will dampen the chances of Pacquiao arranging a rematch against Floyd Mayweather or a fifth duel with Juan Manuel Marquez or a showdown with WBO/WBC superlightweight champion Terence Crawford. It?s Pacquiao?s dream to cap his career with a major fight at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena in Bulacan and that could happen in November if things work out as planned.
The first priority is to dispose of Horn. Once the Australian is out of the way, then Pacquiao can focus on whom to fight in his swan song. Mayweather would be a prize catch but will he agree to face Pacquiao in the Philippines? What would it take for Mayweather to fly over and battle Pacquiao under hostile conditions? The estimate is he earned about $250 Million in outpointing Pacquiao, who fought with an injured shoulder starting the fourth round, in 2015. Will a rematch produce an amount even close to that?
Marquez recently said he would never fight Pacquiao again. Yet, the Mexican said he?s up for one more fight to set up a retirement fund. Nobody can give Marquez the kind of money he?ll get from fighting Pacquiao a fifth time. No matter his denials, Marquez will fight Pacquiao again if the price is right, even in the Philippines. As for Crawford, Pacquiao has nothing to prove by taking on the 29-year-old Mayweather fight-alike. If legacy is what he?s after, Pacquiao should fight either Mayweather or Marquez in his farewell bout, whether in the Philippines or somewhere else.
As for the unsinkable 85-year-old Arum, he?ll continue to do what he does best ? to make fights happen. The Harvard Law School graduate staged his first boxing promotion with Muhammad Ali as his featured fighter in 1966. He?s been involved in producing over 9,000 fights in more than 1,500 cards in 22 countries over six continents. Uncle Bob is a legend in his own time.
