THE next fight of Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao is almost guaranteed of getting vast media coverage in the United States.
Fight promoter Bob Arum revealed that the parent companies of both Showtime and HBO have offered their mainstream media entities to promote Pacquiao?s November battle opposite Juan Manuel Marquez.
?Our goal is that we?ll vote on it by the end of the week,? Arum told Boxingscene.
Showtime, which beamed Pacquiao?s bout against Shane Mosley last May, will again be backed by TV giant CBS.
HBO, on the other hand, will have the logistics of Time Warner, which has major operations in film, television and print media.
?What happened was that the leaders of HBO, not the people in HBO Sports, but the guys who really run HBO, really got involved,? said Arum.
HBO has shown all but one of Pacquiao?s bouts in the United States and each bout made a killing at the Pay-Per-View buys.
Arum, however, tapped Showtime as it offered CBS?s multi-platform news in promoting Pacquiao?s match against Mosley, which resulted to 1.3 million household buys.
Pacquiao and Marquez will brawl for the third time at a catchweight of 144lbs on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
OLYMPIC HOPE. Teenage boxing champion Eumir Felix Marcial may be the country?s best bet in the next Olympics.
No less that boxing?s world governing body head Dr. Wu made this assessment after witnessing Marcial?s road to the gold medal of the recently concluded World Junior Boxing Championships.
Wu, who is the president of the International Boxing Association or AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur), said Marcial showed skills that is not typical for a teen fighter.
Wu is hopeful that Marcial won?t be tempted to join the professional ranks as he expects pro scouts to follow the progress of the talented fighter from Zamboanga.
Rio De Janeiro is set to host the 2016 Olympics.
Last weekend, Marcial won for the country its first-ever gold in the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
On his way to the championship, the 15-year-old Marcial beat the best young fighters from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Turkey.
PROVE WORTHINESS. Elite members of the Philippine boxing team will have a chance to prove their worth as London Olympic hopefuls when they compete in the upcoming Asian Boxing Championships in Korea.
Five Fighters, led by Asian Games champions Joan Tipon and Rey Saludar, will be leading three other boxers to compete in the tough tournament set to start today until Aug. 12.
According to the team?s head coach Ronald Chavez, the tournament will serve as a gauge in choosing the country?s bet for the World Amateur Boxing Championships this September in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The world championships will be the official qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics.
Also part of the team campaigning in Korea are Rolando Tacuyan, who will compete in the 64kg class, Charly Suarez in the 60kg division and Wilfredo Lopez in the 69kg class.
Saludar?s younger brother Victorio was supposed to join the team, but a hand injury suffered during a recent sparring session scuttled that plan.
DONAIRE DILEMMA. His issue with Top Rank Inc. is now over and done, but Filipino world bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. may be bugged by another schedule that will hinder a proposed major bout.
Last week, Donaire announced he is reuniting with Top Rank after the Filipino flirted with a possible stint with Golden Boy Promotions.
After winning the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization bantamweight belts, by knocking out Mexican Fernando Montiel in the second round last February, Donaire tried to bolt out of the Top Rank banner owned by Bob Arum.
Well-known mediator Daniel Weinstein, the same man who made a ruling in a similar battle between Top Rank and GBP for Pacquiao?s promotional rights years ago, was again the man in the middle of this issue.
Weinstein upheld Top Rank?s rights regarding Donaire based on their earlier agreement, which came about during their Pacquiao argument.
Top Rank now plans to showcase Donaire in an October and December major cards.
Problem is, for two years now, Donaire has been preparing for his Nov. 11, 2011 church wedding with longtime partner Rachel Marcial.
Will Donaire sacrifice his November church date for that December outing?
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