At this point in time, Pacquiao appears more than willing to work with Arum in the future. But, clearly, the dynamic has changed?
Manny Pacquiao will fight Lucas Matthysse on July 8 in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia?apparently.
From Pacquiao?s side of things, the bout seems to be pretty much a done deal, with a four-stop Asian media tour planned and a kick-off press conference scheduled for April 11 in Manila.
Pacquiao?s longtime promoter Bob Arum, though, seems to alternate between tepid acceptance and guarded skepticism when it comes to whether the bout actually takes place. A good chunk of this uncharacteristic flip-flopping from Arum seems to come from the fact that Pacquiao may or may not still be signed with Arum?s Top Rank Promotions and, whether Pacquiao is or isn?t officially with the company, Arum still has big plans for the Filipino icon in the fairly immediate future.
Attorney Brando Viernesto, who handles Pacquiao?s business deals and contracts, recently told Spin.ph that Pacquiao?s contract with Top Rank, which was signed shortly after the Tim Bradley rematch in 2014, expired following the Jeff Horn fight last July and that the fighter is now a promotional free agent
?This was a four-fight contract with one fight remaining from the 2006 deal, which makes the (2014 deal) five fights in all,? said Viernesto. ?From the date of the signing, Pacquiao fought Chris Algieri (November 2014), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (May 2015), Bradley (April 2016), Jessie Vargas (November 2016) and Jeff Horn (July 2017). That makes it five fights in all.?
The catch, however, seems to be that Arum placed a rematch clause into the Horn fight contract. That clause could be seen as a hook to keep Pacquiao snared and bound to Top Rank until that Horn rematch obligation is satisfied.
But, while Pacquiao may be tied to a rematch against Horn at some point, it doesn?t have to be now and, apparently, he may have the right to free agency even if/when that fight eventually gets signed.
So, Pacquiao?s MP Promotions in association with Matthysse?s promoter, Golden Boy, seems to have every right to go ahead with their planned July 8 bout for Matthysse?s ?regular? WBA welterweight title.
If Arum is steamed at this turn of events, he?s doing a good job of keeping his rage under control, likely, because he can?t afford to burn bridges with his one-time cash cow just yet. With two fighters under contract?Terence Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko? who he?d love to match (and may need to match) against Pacquiao in passing-of-the-torch bouts, Arum is apparently all about diplomacy right now.
Diplomacy, of course, after allegedly trying some skullduggery and sabotage first.
Pacquiao spokesman, Aquiles Zonio, has claimed that Arum twice tried to derail negotiations with possible financiers.
?Arum had sabotaged two previous negotiations for the holding of a Pacquiao fight outside of the United States,? Zonio told Philboxing.com in a March 26 statement. ?Arum called up Pacquiao?s financiers threatening to file a lawsuit if Top Rank is not included in the promotion.?
But if Arum can?t kill an outside-his-grasp Pacquiao fight, he seems at least somewhat alright with it happening?provided he gets something from the deal or has some presence in the event. Rumors have already been floated out to the media that Top Rank will handle US promotion for the fight and will push to have it televised as part of the company?s deal with ESPN.
And all of this very well could be true. At this point in time, Arum needs to keep working with Pacquiao and Pacquiao appears more than willing to work with Arum in the future. But, clearly, the dynamic has changed.
?MP Promotion will handle that fight,? Pacquiao recently told reporters in Manila, referring to his fight with Matthysse. ?[Arum] is invited and there?s no problem. I think after my fight with Matthysse, we will talk regarding the possible Pacquiao-Lomachenko fight in the future.?
