EVERYTHING remains on the negotiating table on who will Manny Pacquiao?s next opponent be, according to the Filipino boxing sensation?s confidant, international promoter Rex ?Wakee? Salud.
In a telephone interview with the BusinessMirror yesterday, Salud said it might even take up to the end of the year for Pacquiao to finally decide on who his next foe will be.
?It?s still a toss-up between two fighters. Manny is taking his time and is carefully studying which fight offers the best money for him,? said Salud. ?It?s really all up to Manny. Whoever he wants to fight next, his promoters will have little option to oppose Manny?s choice.?
Salud disclosed that Pacquiao left for the United States late last week mainly to shoot his Nike commercial and not solely to discuss his next fight. Pacquiao arrived home yesterday morning to shoot some plugs with GMA 7 where he recently signed a sitcom deal.
Last week, Top Rank Inc. big boss Bob Arum told the BusinessMirror that Pacquiao will choose between World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion David Diaz and WBC super-featherweight ruler Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico.
?Arum was asked by Manny to meet him in Los Angeles which Arum did. All Arum did was to present to Manny the finer details of the offer for both Marquez and Diaz,? added Salud.
Arum, however, hinted that he will bat for Diaz as Pacquiao?s next opponent.
?Manny deserves to go into the ring as the champion in fighting Marquez. And since Manny is having trouble making the 130-lb limit, this is the perfect opportunity to fight in the lightweight and win another championship,? said Arum.
Arum has reserved a March 15 date for Pacquiao with HBO.
Another source privy to the talks bared that Arum is pushing for Diaz because his promotional deal with the current lightweight champion is about to expire early next year.
?Arum wants to maximize whatever financial terms he ought to get before his deal ends. Diaz is the only fighter under Top Rank who can command a hefty fight purse against Pacquiao,? said the source who requested anonymity.
Pacquiao also hinted in his column in a local tabloid which is also posted on the web site philboxing.com that he prefers to fight Marquez when both of them are champions. The 34-year-old Marquez is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) owned by boxing superstar Oscar de la Hoya.
Marquez has been constantly touted as the best foe for Pacquiao because of his come-from-behind 12-round draw with the Filipino where the Mexican survived three first-round knockdowns in their only encounter on May 2004 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
Marquez won the WBC crown over compatriot Marco Antonio Barrera last March, also in Las Vegas.
?It doesn?t matter who between Diaz and Marquez Manny fights next. As long as he?ll be happy with the fight purse, everything will be fine,? added the source.
Top Rank and GBP are compelled by a court-ordered mediation process to work together in promoting Pacquiao?s future bouts.
The partnership came to pass after Pacquiao signed two similar promotional deals with both Top Rank and GBP late last year.
Arum, however, told the BusinessMirror in the same interview last week that Top Rank and Pacquiao will decide who the Filipino superstar battles.
?We have the complete say on who Manny fights. That decision is made by Manny Pacquiao and myself. Once the decision is made, then if it?s a Golden Boy fighter, Golden Boy is part of the copromotion,? said Arum. ?If it?s not a Golden Boy fighter, they are not part of the promotion but they share part of the promotion?s profit.?
