TOP RANK head Bob Arum is on his toes these days.
After announcing that he is going to meet with Manny Pacquiao in Macau in the coming week to discuss the proposed late April bout in the former Portuguese colony, Arum could not get hold yesterday of the Filipino boxer, who he wanted to speak with before they come face-to-face.
“Manny was still sleeping when Mr. Arum called,” said somebody privy to the issue.
It turns out that when the Harvard-educated lawyer gave Pacquiao a buzz, the fighter was still in bed while Arum was burning the lines from the US West Coast.
Mike Koncz, Pacquiao?s Canadian adviser, declined to give out information but promised to do so in several hours or in the (Sunday) morning.
Early this week, Arum revealed that he will be traveling to Macau after Super Bowl and rendezvous with key members of Team Pacquiao there anytime this week where they plan to make an announcement of the planned 12round battle with Korean Injin Chi.
A Pacquiao insider who asked not to be named said that Arum feels uneasy over reports from the Philippines saying Pacquiao is considering to join trainer Freddie Roach in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Oscar De La Hoya will stay beginning in early-March for a rich May 5 bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“If Manny really decides to train in Puerto Rico instead of the Wild Card in Hollywood, that could spell trouble for Arum because it would only mean that Manny will spend a lot of time with De La Hoya.”
Arum?s Top Rank and De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions are engaged in a legal battle over the promotional rights over the 28-year-old Pacquiao.
“If Manny stays together with De La Hoya in Puerto Rico, they might emerge from that training camp as the best of friends,” said the source. “When they head back to the States, Oscar and Manny would be hand in hand and that worries Arum.”
When Roach decided to train De La Hoya, Arum said it would be better to tap ex-De La Hoya trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to train Pacquiao since Roach won?t be able to dedicate his time to the GenSan bomber.
But Arum said “it?s all up to Manny” to get a new trainer or just be content with Roach?s substitute, the equally-capable Justin Fortune.
