Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is on the edge of his seat and twiddling his thumbs, waiting to hear from Manny Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz, who is in the thick of negotiations with interested parties in Abu Dhabi hell-bent in bringing Pacquiao?s Nov. 13 fight with Mexican Antonio Margarito in the oil-rich emirate.
?Something?s happening,? Arum told Bulletin-Tempo, revealing that as soon as Koncz arrived in Manila from Los Angeles on Sunday morning, he didn?t even bother to unpack, catching a flight to Abu Dhabi later in the evening.
Arum said the Abu Dhabi people are coming up with a mouth-watering offer to host Pacquiao-Margarito.
While Arum a Harvard-edu-cated lawyer, did not say how much Abu Dhabi is wiling to shell out, an industry source said Pacquiao could get close to what he had been promised had the Floyd Mayweather fight materialized.
Arum said that Dallas is now the front-runner to stage the Pacquiao fight assuming a deal can?t be reached in Abu Dhabi after it was reported late last week that it doesn?t appear Nevada will grant Margarito a license in connection with his suspension stemming from the loaded gloves issue.
Cowboys Stadium, which lured more than 51,000 last March when Pacquiapo beat Joshua Clottey of Ghana, has expressed its desire to hold the fight and it looks like the state of Texas is ready to grant Margarito a license.
Arum had originally wanted to stage it in Las Vegas, considering that Sin City is virtually the home of big-time boxing.
Also being looked at as a possible site is Monterrey, which is the wealthiest among the Mexican cities. Last week, Pacquiao had expressed keen interest in bringing his act south of the border for a change in scenery.
?We?ll see what happens over there (in Abu Dhabi),? said Arum, whose promotional outfit Top Rank is the leader in promotions nowadays.
?If the fight ends up in Abu Dhabi, I guess we have to do a press conference there right away but if not, we will do a press conference on August 31 in Dallas followed by two more in New York and then Los Angeles,? added Arum. (Nick Giongco)
