While Manny Pacquiao may be willing to settle the $30,000 he reportedly owes the World Boxing Council for previous sanction fees, the Filipino camp is asking why he is being asked to shell out $100,000 more for his Dec. 6 fight with Oscar dela Hoya.
Pacquiao?s lawyer, Franklin Gacal, said yesterday he has written WBC president Jose Sulaiman for clarification regarding the previous sanction fees and whether they were supposed to cover the fight against Juan Manuel Marquez or David Diaz.
?I sent a letter to the WBC and I?m asking them what really is the problem about this alleged non-payment of the sanction fee,? Gacal told ABS-CBN amid reports that Pacquiao may be stripped of his WBC lightweight title if he fails to pay the amount in 15 days.
Pacquiao defeated Marquez last March to win the WBC super-featherweight (130 pounds) crown. But he did not defend the title and instead faced Diaz last June, scoring a big knockdown and winning the WBC lightweight (135 pounds) crown.
Pacquiao?s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, told The STAR a few days ago that Pacquiao, whether or not he beats Dela Hoya in their non-title bout pegged at 147 pounds, might end up defending the lightweight crown ? probably against Marquez of Nate Campbell.
Gacal said if proven that Pacquiao owes the WBC in previous sanction fees then the 29-year-old Filipino superstar would pay the boxing body headed by Sulaiman.
But regarding the $100,000 sanction fee which the WBC is demanding from Pacquiao for his coming ?Dream Match? with Dela Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Pacquiao camp is raising some questions.
Gacal believes the WBC has no sanction rights over the Dec. 6 match because there?s no WBC title at stake. The Nevada State Athletic Commission has control over the coming fight expected to generate $100 million in total revenue.
But the fact that there?s no WBC title at stake does not mean that the boxing body has nothing to do with the fight.
?The WBC may have proprietary rights over Manny Pacquiao because he is a WBC champion. When he fights Dela Hoya, he will be introduced as the WBC lightweight champion, and he will be carrying his WBC belt into the ring,? said noted boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Gacal said Pacquiao, in deep training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, was surprised about the news of the WBC ?demands? and that he is in danger of losing the lightweight crown he won over Diaz.
Under WBC rules, a champion has one year to defend a title. And under WBC rules, any one among its champions should pay the body 1.5 percent of the purse as sanction fee.
Reports said Pacquiao was willing to pay the WBC only $20,000 for the Dela Hoya fight.
But Sulaiman said, ?If he pays (that amount), the WBC will not accept $20,000. It would be $100,000 which is much, much less than the WBC rules and regulations.?
?If they are not willing to pay, the WBC will seriously consider stripping Pacquiao of the WBC lightweight title,? the WBC chief was quoted.
Sulaiman, who?s in Chengdu, China for the 46th WBC Convention, thinks that Pacquiao is unaware of all the things that are happening.
?I am sure Manny does not know about it because he is a fair boy and he is a proud WBC champion. If they are fooling him and doing this to the WBC, it?s flabbergasting,? Sulaiman told www.insidesports.ph.
Sulaiman added, ?You cannot imagine how sad and humiliated all the delegates felt? over what was going on. I don?t believe that Manny has been well represented in the WBC and we feel very disappointed and very frustrated because Manny is the best pound-for-pound and the biggest pride of the WBC.?
The WBC believes that Pacquiao stands to earn as much as $20 million for the Dela Hoya fight, and it was Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez who stood up and said Pacquiao is not earning that much for the fight.
Mike Koncz, who handles some of Pacquiao?s ring documents, is looking into the matter.
?We respect the WBC and Manny is very proud to be the WBC champion we now have to look at it from Manny?s point of view,? Koncz told www.insidesports.ph.
Koncz added that the money due was possibly for the Marquez fight and he was ?checking the records.?
?There could be a mistake that?s why I?m looking at all the deductions. Again we assume it?s done by the accountants of the fight promoter but on the other hand everybody makes mistakes and if there is a mistake that would be brought to Manny?s attention, verified and he?ll authorize payment.?
