MANNY Pacquiao, dodged by foreign rivals in his bid to validate his claim as world featherweight champion, will instead take on an Australian foe in a tuneup match set for Dec. 4 at the Global City in Taguig.
First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, an avid supporter of the Filipino champ, is expected to play an active role in the promotion of the fight, whose formal announcement will be held sometime next week through Pacquiao’s US handler Murad Muhammad.
Paquiao will fight Perth-based Gairy St. Clair, a short but hard-punching sparring partner of Kostya Tszyu, who became famous for beating RP’s Leopoldo Cantancio during the 1988 Seoul Olympics and went on to become a world champion.
“Manny Pacquiao is coming home to defend his People’s Featherweight championship. We are very ecstatic about this fight,” said Muhammad and Pacquiao’s business manager Rod Nazario in a joint statement. “This is a done deal.”
Pacquiao is reportedly going to earn $500,000 tax free for the fight which will be a prelude for his projected tough campaign next year.
St. Clair is originally from Georgetown, Guyana. He has a 35-3-2 win-loss-draw card with 15 knockouts and is coming from an 11th round victory over Ghanian Theopilus Quaye.
The Aussie suffered from the hands of former world champions Vivian Harris, Leonard Dorin and Diego Corrales. But they were all decided by points, a testament to the 5-foot-4 brawler’s staying power.
Pacquiao, who last fought on local soil early last year at the Rizal Park, arrived from Los Angeles last Tuesday but he is set to go back to the US to resume his training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
The Filipino champ is expected to lock horns with either Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales by February or March next year, according to Nazario.
This year, the Gen. Santos City southpaw fought just once at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last May 8 where he battled Marquez to a 12-round split draw.
Pacquiao, who climbed from the super bantamweight class to the featherweight category, is still looking for an official title.
Nevertheless, he was adjudged by the venerable Ring Magazine as the rightful champion in the 126 lbs division after downing Marco Antonio Barrera last year at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
