A forty-sixty share should make Manny Pacquiao a very happy man as negotiations for a dream showdown with Oscar dela Hoya got underway yesterday in Los Angeles.
Top Rank big boss Bob Arum, for Pacquiao, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaeffer, for Dela Hoya, came out of a two-hour meeting confident of striking a deal.
For Arum and Schaeffer to sit down for two hours is a very good sign, according to Pacquiao confidante Wakee Salud, who said a 40-60 share for Pacquiao is a good one.
?Manny cannot make this much money if it?s not Oscar he?s facing. I think that goes the same with Oscar. But it can?t be fifty-fifty. Oscar dela Hoya will not agree to that,? he said.
Initial reports said Pacquiao stands to earn no less than $10 million for this fight.
?It?s good to hear that the meeting lasted that long because it means that negotiations are on. I think they?re just ironing things out and very soon it?s going to be a done deal,? Salud added.
?If they give Manny forty percent of everything, and not thirty percent, then it?s on,? said the Cebuano boxing figure.
Schaeffer hosted Arum during the meeting that took place at the GBP offices in Los Angeles. The fight, if sealed, should take place Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
?We met and there are some issues, but it was a good meeting. I think what it will take is for Manny to give and for Oscar to give to get a deal done,? Schaeffer told ESPN.com.
?That?s pretty much what it is. But the fact that we had a two hour-plus meeting is obviously a good sign. If it had been a five-minute meeting it would indicate the gaps are too big.
What Schaeffer and Arum should do now is to talk to their respective boxers. Dela Hoya is due in LA next week while Pacquiao is in Beijing for the Olympics.
?But this was a good first step. We had a very good, a very cordial meeting. We talked about a lot of things,? said Schaeffer, who isn?t too hot in Dela Hoya facing Antonio Margarito in his last fight.
Arum described the meeting as ?a very productive? one.
?Richard is going to talk further with Oscar next week. Manny is going to Beijing for [some of] the Olympics and I will talk to him soon. Richard and I can make a deal, but we are not the guys doing the fighting.
?It?s going to be up to the fighters. There will have to be movement on both sides. Hopefully, there will be movement. We want to make a deal, Richard and I. Whether it can be made or not, I don?t know,? he said.
Boxing commentator Larry Merchant, who first brought up the idea of a Dela Hoya-Pacquiao match a few months back, gave the Filipino lightweight champ ?a puncher?s chance.?
?Manny?s in his prime, Oscar is past his prime. Oscar?s talking retirement, sometimes when a guy is talking retirement, he is retired. It?s a no lose fight for Pacquiao. He can make a good fight. Maybe he wins, he elevates his status. If he loses, he lost to a top fighter, a bigger guy, and he?s made more money than he?s ever made before,? he told The Sweet Science.
Among the issues raised during the meeting were the weight limit for the fight, initially pegged at 147 lbs, and the brand of gloves and how heavy the gloves should be.
But it?s the splitting of the revenue that should take much of their time.
?I can say without any question none of that will be a problem, weight or gloves. We are working essentially on the split,? Arum told ESPN.com.
