LAS VEGAS ? Before entering the ring to face Oscar de la Hoya last Saturday, Manny Pacquiao had made up his mind to keep the WBC lightweight championship, no matter the outcome of the Dream Match.
That?s the word from Pacquiao?s lawyer Franklin (Jeng) Gacal who recently confirmed the decision and said WBC president Jose Sulaiman has been duly informed.
Sulaiman initially called the Dream Match a nightmare, insisting Pacquiao was too small to make a fight of it. He predicted a one-sided De la Hoya victory. Sulaiman turned out to be half-correct. The fight was one-sided but in Pacquiao?s favor.
Sulaiman probably reacted in such a negative fashion because Pacquiao moving up in weight meant no sanction fee for a title fight as his lightweight crown wouldn?t be on the line.
At the WBC convention in China last month, Sulaiman ruled that Pacquiao would be stripped of the lightweight diadem if he didn?t pay a sanction fee even for a non-title bout. Apparently, the WBC obliges its champions to pay ?tong? even for non-title fights as a form of ?royalty.?
To show how shoddy the WBC is, Sulaiman entered into a negotiation with the Pacquiao camp in settling the dispute. Sulaiman earlier said the sanction fee for a non-title fight is one percent of the champion?s purse. He assessed Pacquiao $100,000 on the presumption that his purse was $10 million.
When Sulaiman was told the contracted purse was only $6 million, he scaled down the fee to $60,000.
Michael Koncz, who advises Pacquiao on boxing issues, proposed a fee of up to $40,000 – which Sulaiman branded as an insult.
With the situation turning murky, sources said Pacquiao seriously considered to give up the lightweight title than pay blood money to Sulaiman.
In the end, Sulaiman agreed to a $50,000 sanction fee in exchange for continuing to recognize Pacquiao as lightweight champion.
?I spoke with Don Jose and he was reasonable in understanding our situation because of tax and other expenses,? said Gacal. ?I advised Don Jose that Manny would pay the balance of his sanction fee of $30,000 for the second (Juan Manuel) Marquez fight because that?s an obligation. And he would pay the $50,000 sanction fee to keep his lightweight belt.?
Gacal said he would arrange the settlement shortly after the De la Hoya bout.
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With Pacquiao?s demolition of De la Hoya, holding on to the lightweight title now doesn?t make sense. Pacquiao has clearly outgrown the 135-pound division and will likely campaign as a lightwelterweight at least for his next fight.
If Ricky Hatton is Pacquiao?s next opponent, the fight will be surely set at the lightwelterweight limit of 140 pounds.
Gacal said even before Saturday?s fight, he had already been in contact with Hatton?s lawyer. He said Hatton remains contractually linked to Golden Boy for another two bouts before becoming a free agent.
?Hatton?s camp is definitely interested,? said Gacal. ?I?m sure Bob (Arum) will study it closely and come up with a plan.?
There is no certainty the prospective Pacquiao-Hatton fight will be held in London where 100,000 fans are expected to jam the Wembley Stadium for the match. Las Vegas will always be a leading host candidate because of the big money generated by high-rollers.
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On another matter, Gacal, who is from General Santos City like Pacquiao, said he was worried about the implications of what seemed like a rigged weigh-in for the De la Hoya fight.
?Manny weighed 149 pounds the day before the weigh-in on both his scales and the MGM scales that were used for the weigh-in,? said Gacal. ?We calibrated both scales so there would be no discrepancy. But how could he lose seven pounds in a day? We couldn?t believe Manny came in at 142 for the weigh-in. When he left Mandalay Bay to go to MGM for the weigh-in, Manny was 146. How could he lose four pounds in a matter of minutes??
If the scales were tampered to bring down weight by four pounds, De la Hoya should?ve scaled 149 – two over the agreed limit. That would?ve resulted in paying a fine of $6 million or $3 million for each excess pound.
?If De la Hoya really weighed 149, reducing to 147 would?ve taken a toll on his body,? said Gacal. ?That would?ve given Manny a big advantage because De la Hoya would?ve been so drained and dehydrated.?
Gacal said he consulted with Freddie Roach, Buboy Fernandez and Arum about the surprising results of the weigh-in.
?Bob wondered if our scales were wrong because he couldn?t see anyone tampering with the scales,? said Gacal. ?Freddie and Buboy weren?t too concerned. They were confident Manny would win, irregardless of how much De la Hoya weighed. It became an academic issue since we lost the right to protest when we left the stage of the weigh-in. If we wanted to protest, Freddie and Buboy should?ve done it right after the weights were announced.?
Sulaiman showed up at the weigh-in, smiling broadly, smelling dollars and wishing Pacquiao good luck. As it turned out, the weights didn?t matter.
