ARUM PREDICTS GREAT PERFORMANCE BY PACQUIAO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 23 May 2008
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who handles both Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and reigning WBC lightweight champion David Diaz who clash in a ?Lethal Combination? showdown at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino on in Las Vegas on June 28 says ?you are going to see a great performance from Manny Pacquiao.?
Arum made the statement in an interview with Viva Sports special correspondent Romy Sajer during a media gathering at Lalo?s restaurant which was part of a whirlwind promotional stop in downtown Chicago , Thursday, Manila Time.
Arum said Filipinos ?should be proud of Manny Pacquiao. He?s really working hard. He?s determined. He?s not fooling around, he?s not playing around. He and Freddie Roach are preparing for this fight.?
Arum revealed that while ?no real, concrete negotiations with anybody have started yet? he did mention that a proposed unification title fight with WBA champion Edwin Valero in Macau in October was a real possibility. Arum said several people have contacted him ?because everybody wants to fight Manny Pacquiao. That?s where the money is.?
Arum mentioned Nate Campbell and Humberto Soto who mauled Bobby Pacquiao, Manny?s younger brother last year as possibilities as well as ?a lot of guys out there. But we are concentrating first on this one? against Diaz on June 28.
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach on the other hand was keen on a fight against Britain ?s Ricky ?The Hitman? Hatton provided he wins against Juan Lazcano this weekend. Roach told Viva Sports, ?we want to fight Hatton next. That?s definitely a future fight for Manny. Edwin Valero is making a lot of noise and he wants to fight Manny. A lot of guys want to fight Manny because he brings money to the table.?
However, when all the possibilities were sifted Roach conceded , ?we?re looking more definitely ? a possibility ? of Valero right now.? While Roach said he likes a Hatton fight next he admitted ?I don?t see that happening right away. I think that?s a little further down the road.?
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