Manny Pacquiao last week announced his next fight would be in Malaysia. But don’t go booking flights just yet.
The Filipino icon said he would box WBA welterweight titleholder Lucas Matthysse on June 24 in Kuala Lumpur.
But there are reasons to hold fire on your travel arrangement. There is recent history of Pacquiao’s fights falling through, and rumours are circulating of a rift between the boxer and his long-standing promoter Bob Arum.
Two years ago we were told that Pacman would box Amir Khan in the United Arab Emirates. Late last year, he was supposed to rematch Jeff Horn in Manila, and most recently Pacquiao was booked in for a double-header in Las Vegas next month, with him and Horn taking on separate opponents.
For various reasons — money, ego, or both — none of those matches happened, despite all of them being announced at some point.
This time it was Pacquiao himself who revealed the details of his latest “next fight”.
He told the Manila Times newspaper on Saturday: “It’s already final I’m going to fight in Malaysia on June 24. It is against Matthysse.”
Conspicuous by their absence were key details such as host venue and TV broadcasters. More importantly, Arum later the same day said there was no deal in place.
“I don’t know if the fight is going to happen because the people [the Malaysian backers] haven’t put up the money yet,” Arum said. “If the money doesn’t come up, there won’t be a fight.”
Arum said the unnamed Malaysian group was prepared to spend US$15 million on the event, but a $5-million down-payment was required to make the fight official.
Adding intrigue, although casting the Matthysse bout further into doubt, was the fact Pacquiao also revealed the contest would be staged by his own company MP Promotions. If true, this would be the first time in more than a decade that Pacquiao would fight away from Arum’s Top Rank umbrella.
Arum, of course, maintains that any Pacquiao v Matthyse match would only happen with his involvement, and rejects Pacquiao’s claim that his contract with Top Rank concluded after his last bout, against Horn in July.
“Yes, he is [still under contract with Top Rank],” Arum told the Manila Times a day after Pacquiao’s unilateral Matthysse announcement. “I can’t go into details … All I’m saying is that he is under contract with Top Rank for a reasonably long period of time.”
Whatever the truth of the matter, the resultant rumours of a Pacquiao-Arum rift do little to instill confidence that the Matthysse match will actually go ahead.
The first signs of discord manifested when Pacquiao withdrew from the fight with Mike Alvarado, set for April 14 on the same card as Horn’s match with American star Terrence Crawford.
He reportedly felt the money on offer was an “insult” and that Alvarado was an inferior opponent, and he baulked at the fact he would not be the main event.
Now 39, Pacquiao is clearly nearing the end of his career, and as such will want to maximise his earnings in the short time he has left in the sport.
Perhaps he feels the best way to do this is to become self-promoted. That way he would be able to set the terms and conditions of any match, and choose his opponents.
In the latter regard, Matthysse fits the bill perfectly. The Argentine slugger is wildly exciting, holds a world title belt, and is a marketable commodity on US television. Pacquiao would also likely beat him.
But will Arum let the fight happen away from his own auspices?
Not likely. Pacquiao is probably still Top Rank’s biggest commercial attraction. That means unless the contract really has expired, and that this is a demonstrably cut and dry matter, Pacquiao and Arum could be set for a protracted legal battle.
This would put the Matthysse match — and any other — on the backburner.
Don’t book your Malaysia holiday just yet.
