SPORTS SHORTS 54: TERENCE CRAWFORD, MANNY PACQUIAO'S OTHER OPTION FOR $40 MILLION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 15 Feb 2021
Manny Pacquiao wants to fight an opponent who wears a belt because the WBA stripped him of his super title declaring him "champion in recess" due to inactivity and in place elevated the regular champion Yordenis Ugas to super champion. Pacquiao who has been silent on the rumors surrounding his next fight, finally revealed to Nick Giongco of The Daily Tribune that his first choice as foe is undefeated WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford.
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What surprised everybody is the amount demanded by Pacquiao from Top Rank CEO Bob Arum for the Crawford fight to push through. “I like to fight somebody who has a title,” Pacquiao told Daily Tribune. "We told Bob I get $40 million and Crawford gets $10 million." The future Hall of Famer said he will fight anybody. "You know me, I don’t back away from any challenge. Bring ‘em on!” Pacquiao says he is also willing to clash with WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence and four division champion Mikey Garcia.
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During these times of economic difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic raising $40 million for a fighting prize is real hard to carry out without a full capacity live gate, and exceptional financial backing. Until they can attract some superb financiers, Pacquiao vs. Crawford would be very hard on budget and they have to sell the fight excessively well on pay-per-view so that Arum can accept the amount demanded by Pacquiao.
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Pacquiao recently published on his official Twitter account that he already started his training and his manager Audie Attar of Paradigm Sports is working on a deal for a huge fight which will be announced soon. Attar, who recently warned to file legal action against "false representatives" of the senator tweeted: "Let's go Champ! We stay focused. Watch this space."
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Arum said last year overseas officials were willing to resume talks regarding a spring 2021 fight with Pacquiao if Terence Crawford beat Kell Brook. Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) overcame a slow start to tear down former IBF welterweight titleholder Kell Brook in a fourth-round TKO on November 14, 2020 at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Now we're going to go back to the drawing board and revisit that fight with Manny Pacquiao," Crawford said after his amazing win.
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Pacquiao and Crawford were close to fighting in Qatar but the Minister of Health aborted the plan due to COVID-19 restrictions on audience attendance. Crawford confirmed this right after he retained his WBO welterweight belt against Brook. "We had the venue," Crawford said. "The money was almost there. It wasn't quite there. That was the only thing that we were waiting on. But that's what messed up the fight, was the fans."
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WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney has aired his views on Manny Pacquiao possibly facing Ryan Garcia on The Ak and Barak Show over the weekend. The Garcia-Pacquiao fight doesn’t make sense because it’s not very winnable for Ryan, according to Haney. "Garcia is moving up two weight classes to fight Manny, thinking he’ll win, then wanting to fight Tank (Gervonta Davis) or me doesn’t make sense or seem realistic."
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Haney added that Manny has had his time. He advised Ryan to focus on the realistic challengers for himself instead of this fight with Pacquiao which is tough for him to win. "If Ryan loses to Manny Pacquiao, then what? Pacquiao had his time and it came and went." Haney encouraged Garcia to divert his focus to somewhere else. "Let’s focus on Tank, myself, Teofimo (Lopez). This is our era."
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Kevin Durant was back to the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Golden State Warriors welcomed their former star player with warm hugs, applause and a tribute video on Saturday night, minus the crowd. Durant went on to lead his new team the Brooklyn Nets to victory, 134-117, and this is Brooklyn's league-high seventh 130-point game. Durant scored 20 points. James Harden added 19 points and 16 assists. Kyrie Irving led the Nets in scoring with 23 points. All five of the Nets' starters finished in double figures. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 27 points for Golden State. During Durant's three years with the Warriors, the team won two NBA titles, and Durant was selected Finals MVP twice.
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Miguel White from Legazpi, Albay was of Filipino-American descent who won the bronze medal for the Philippines in the 400 meter hurdles at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. White competed against a class field, including Glenn Hardin of the United States, the world record holder who eventually won the gold medal. White from the Philippine Islands was the fastest in the qualifying. During the finals, at the last hurdle, Hardin was a full stride ahead of John Loaring of Canada and White, who were hurdling in a tight race for second place. Loaring (52.7s) nosed out White (52.8s) by a tenth of second.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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