MANILA, Philippines – Bob Arum of Top Rank was asked a very simple question: What happens if Manny Pacquiao beats Ricky Hatton?
?He then becomes the biggest attraction in boxing,? answered the ageless promoter who?s in town for ?The Flash and The Furious? boxing card today at the Araneta Coliseum.
As if Pacquiao is not yet boxing?s biggest attraction, Arum went farther, saying that if indeed he beats Hatton, then the Filipino icon can literally ask for the moon in his next fights.
And get it, too.
?Everybody else who fights Manny Pacquiao now has to be treated like he was an opponent of the former great attraction, Oscar dela Hoya,? said Arum of boxing?s Golden Boy.
Dela Hoya fought Pacquiao in what was billed as ?The Dream Match? last December. But it turned out to be a big mismatch in favor of Pacquiao, leading to Dela Hoya?s retirement.
Because Dela Hoya was then the biggest star in the sport, he got 67 percent of everything, and Pacquiao got 33 percent, which still amounted to $15 million at most.
Now, Pacquiao is in Dela Hoya?s shoes.
?What does that mean? It means that the (Pacquiao?s) opponent should be happy if he gets 30 percent, 32 percent or 35 as the maximum. And Manny gets the 65 percent,? said Arum.
?That?s what we?re gonna be looking at when we make a fight,? said Arum. He added that Pacquiao only agreed to a 52-48 split with Hatton because of what the British brings to the table.
Pacquiao had wanted 60 percent of everything against Hatton, and went down to 55. In the end he agreed to 52 percent but got a guaranteed purse of $12 million. It could reach $20 when all comes in.
?When he said that with Ricky Hatton he wanted the lion?s share, people said, ?No, he was being greedy,?? said Arum of his top fighter. ?No, he wasn?t being greedy. He was right.?
?The only thing that dictated against him was all the money (the British pay-per-view sales) Hatton brings to the table. But with any other fighter, he is the attraction,? said Arum.
?So now Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he wants 60 percent (to fight Pacquiao). That?s nonsense. Even 50 percent is nonsense. You can make a deal with Mayweather if Mayweather takes a much smaller percent,? said Arum.
Mayweather is poised to come out of retirement, and if he doesn?t get the Pacquiao fight he might end up facing Juan Manuel Marquez for much, much less.
?Manny isn?t like the hungry Filipino anymore, clawing out the door, ?please fight me, give me the opportunity, please fight me.? He?s now the big attraction and everybody?s got to come to him.?
