LOS ANGELES — In the event Manny Pacquiao emerges victorious on Jan. 21 against Erik Morales, a third match will definitely be held sometime in May or June. But if the Filipino ends up short again, promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank said there won’t be any.
“There is a clause in the contract that says there’s going to be a rubber fight should Pacquiao wins the second fight,” Arum said on Thursday during an open media workout at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
“But if Erik (Morales) wins the fight (against Pacquiao), he wants a revenge fight against Zahir Raheem or Juan Manuel Marquez (who is going up in weight),” said Arum, who had a hand in staging the 1975 Thrilla in Manila.
Raheem dealt a loss to Morales last September 2005, while Marquez, who battled Pacquiao to a draw in May 2004, reigns as the world featherweight champion and has expressed desire to campaign in the 130-lb category.
Top Rank is promoting the Pacquiao-Morales rematch at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Interestingly, there was no mention about another major player in the division, Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera.
“Forget Barrera,” exclaimed Arum, who went on to describe Barrera as being a “non-attraction.”
“He needs a Pacquiao or a Morales because he can no longer draw a crowd,” said Arum, who is Morales’ promoter.
Barrera had lost to Pacquiao in Nov. 2003 in San Antonio, Texas, and had engaged Morales thrice, winning on two occasions.
Barrera is being managed and promoted by Oscar dela Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Dela Hoya used to fight under the Top Rank banner and put up his own promotional outfit after a falling out with Arum.
Meanwhile, Arum revealed that tickets — priced at 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 and — are selling as if their prices have been slashed by more than half.
“The ticket sales are phenomenal,” said Arum, who is looking at an attendance of at least 15,000. Arum noted that for the fight dubbed “The Battle,” the arena will accommodate 16,500.
“We even received an order from the Philippines asking for 350 (pieces of) 0 tickets. They sent the money and I thought this is great. I think on fight night there’s going to be a split of 50 percent Filipino and 50 percent Mexican crowd. Everything is geared to exceed the first fight.”
The first time Pacquiao and Morales fought, there was a sizable crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and Arum believes that the pay-per-view buys would likely hit 400,000 at .95 per subscription. In their first match, there were 350,000 buys.
