THE much-awaited rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera is off—for now.
A top official of the World Boxing Organization, who has been in constant touch with Golden Boy Promotions, revealed yesterday that Barrera has already been scheduled to defend his World Boxing Council super featherweight title against fellow Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on March 17 in Las Vegas.
“I have just been informed that it’s (the Barrera-Marquez bout) already made,” said WBO vice president for Asia Pacific Panoncillo, who is coordinating with GBP and Cebu’s SGG Promotions to hold the second edition of the World Cup next year in the Philippines.
“I think Pacquiao will have to fight another opponent.”
Panoncillo is coordinating with Cebu boxing officials to tie loose ends for the staging of the World Cup, which will be a duel between top Filipino fighters against their Mexican counterparts.
Barrera is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which is trying to get the promotional rights of Pacquiao from Bob Arum’s Top Rank
GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer had earlier proposed a 50-50 deal for a possible Barrera-Pacquiao rematch on March 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Schaefer dismissed an earlier announcement by Pacquiao that he had chosen Arum to remain as his promoter.
He also gave Pacquiao until Monday (Tuesday in Manila) to make up his mind, even as he urged the Filipino fighter to be his own boss, instead of listening to people around him who “have been giving him wrong information.”
Arum, who attended the Manila Hotel press conference where Pacquiao announced his choice of Top Rank, said Schaefer’s 50-50 proposal was a good sign that GBP was opening up the negotiation process for a Pacquiao-Barrera rematch.
However, Schaefer refused to negotiate with Arum who, according to the GBP official, did not have the promotional rights over Pacquiao.
Arum had announced that should a Pacquiao-Barrera rematch falls through, he would give Pacquiao an opponent of his choice for an April 28 bout in Macau, China, for a purse of not less than $2 million.
The fight date, however, is too close to the May 5 Oscar De la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. showdown, which is considered by experts as the biggest boxing event in recent memory and expected to become the highest-grossing pay-per-view attraction.
After scoring a second straight knockout victory over Mexican great Erik Morales last November, Pacquiao said his next goal is to fight Barrera, whom he stopped in their nontitle clash in 2003.
The promotional row was a result of Pacquiao’s signing up with GBP last September only to reject it later in favor of Top Rank following his second conquest of Morales in Las Vegas.
