That Manny Pacquiao-Humberto Soto fight set for GM Place on Oct. 6 — the one that two weeks ago was supposedly a 99.9 per cent done deal.
Well, it’s off.
Pacquiao will still fight on Oct. 6. But the Filipino super featherweight will be fighting Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
“We’re very disappointed,” said Vancouver businessman Geoffrey Hughes, who had been negotiating with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and thought that he and a group of local partners had been successful in getting the Pacquiao-Soto fight here.
But the deal fell through last Friday when an L.A. arbitrator settled a long-boiling dispute between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions who’d been feuding over Pacquiao’s contract. Under the settlement, bouts between Pacquiao and top Golden Boy fighters will be co-promoted by Golden Boy and Top Rank. Golden Boy will retain a promotional interest in Pacquiao’s other bouts.
One of the conditions of the settlement was that Arum, who promotes Pacquiao and Barrera, who is promoted by Golden Boy, would co-promote a fight between the two. Golden Boy wanted that bout in Vegas.
“Vancouver became a casualty in this long standing dispute between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions,” said Hughes.
“That was the bridge that got them together. They agreed that the fight would be Barrera and that it would be in Vegas. The reason they picked Vegas is because it can pay more money than Vancouver can. That’s why venues like Vancouver, that would like to stage a fight like this, lose out to Las Vegas.
“If you get into a war with Vegas, Vegas will always win. It’s Mandalay Bay, a hotel and casino, and they can afford to pay $5 million US just to get people in the door,” said Hughes, who still wants to build Vancouver into a Pacific Northwest fight mecca.
According to Hughes, promoters like Arum and Don King are talking about the need to take fights away from the glitz of Vegas to other North American cities so fans can see top bouts and the sport can develop its audience.
“Bob Arum has told us that Manny still wants to come to Vancouver,” said Hughes. “Bob and I have a goal to make Vancouver the boxing capital of the Pacific Northwest. It’s a Pacific Rim city and it’s a portal for bringing in fighters like Pacquiao and others from Asia to come here to fight.”
The winner of the Pacquiao-Barrera will likely fight Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez for the World Boxing Council title.
