Filipino boxing promoter Wakee Salud will ask the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) to lend a hand in his quest to get to the bottom of the decision by his fighter, super-featherweight Jimrex Jaca, to sign a promotional contract with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GBP).
Salud told Fightnews that he is keenly awaiting the arrival of chief GAB officials led by chairman Eric Buhain and boxing division head Dr. Nasser Cruz, who are both attending the 44th WBC convention in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The GAB regulates professional boxing in the Philippines.
“I will ask the GAB to send an inquiry so we would all be enlightened,” said Salud on Sunday, stressing that he had nothing to do with the decision of Jaca to fight on a GBP show slated Nov. 25 in Hidalgo, Texas.
Salud had booked Jaca to see action on the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rubber match on Nov. 18 after the Jaca’s original bout against Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico did not push through last month.
Jaca was compelled to fight under GBP since De La Hoya is dangling a $50,000 paycheck as compared with the $7,500 that he will earn on the Nov. 18 promotion of Top Rank as an eight-rounder.
Jaca slipped out of the country a few days ago with the help of Cebu boxing man Sammy Gello-ani, Salud revealed. Gello-ani has strong links with GBP owing to the promotional contract signed by Gello-ani’s local outfit with the LA-based GBP early this year with no less than GBP executive Eric Gomez signing in behalf of Dela Hoya.
Top Rank and GBP are bitter rivals over the acquisition of top talents from the US and elsewhere. Last September, De La Hoya beat Top Rank’s Bob Arum to the draw by inking Pacquiao to a lucrative seven-fight contract.
Top Rank is staging the Pacquiao-Morales 3 at the Thomas and Mack Center and Arum is upbeat that after this fight, Pacquiao’s next fight would still be under the Top Rank banner as the seventy-something New York-bred lawyer boasted that he has an ace up his sleeve over who has the inside track on Pacquiao’s future.
