WBC ASKS FOR FAIRNESS, CLARIFIES PACQUIAO SANCTION FEE ISSUE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 13 Nov 2008
WBC secretary general Mauricio Sulaiman that while he understands the emotions surrounding the issue of the overdue obligations of Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and the sanction fee being levied on him for the ?Dream Match? with Oscar De La Hoya, some of the ?assumptions and comments?, including our own, have been ?unfair.?
Sulaiman, son of WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman who was re-elected last week during the 46th Annual Convention in Chengdu, China after serving the premier world boxing organization for the past 33 years, said the the $30,000 owed by Pacquiao was for the Juan Manuel Marquez fight.
Sulaiman told www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that the ?local contract was registered for $3 million and the WBC was paid only on $2 million.? He said they were ?immediately told by Michael Koncz that they would send the balance and the WBC did nothing to stop the (David) Diaz fight out of respect for Manny and we were promised in good faith the situation would be settled.?
Sulaiman pointed out that the WBC was ?not a collection agency and we trust that promises are kept.? So far the WBC has been paid only $60,000 for the Marquez fight.
Regarding the sanction fee for the De La Hoya fight, the WBC secretary general said Kincz and Top Rank ?are familiar with the WBC rule that a champion must pay a fee when not defending his title? and pointed out that it was Koncz who ?sent the ridiculous offer of $20,000? for the De La Hoya fight which he said made the organization ?look like beggars and mercenaries.?
Sulaiman noted that ?there is no negotiation or bargain. It is simply a flat fee to support Manny. He is the WBC champion and as such has rights and also has obligations. The rules stipulate that a WBC champion entering the ring without defending his title must pay a sanction fee. It is not a new rule and it has been followed by many fighters in our history.?
Sulaiman said it was only then that the WBC stated that $100,000 would be ?a fair amount and much less than the 1.5 percent? even as he said that if the amount of $100,000 was more, based on the rules and the actual purse ?of course we would reduce the figure.?
He said several promoters including Don King ?got involved? in the floor discussions and they were ?open opinions? pointing out that at this time ?nobody knows the true amount? of Pacquiao?s purse.
Sulaiman stressed ?we all want Manny to make as much money as possible. We don?t want to distract him. We just want to be respected and not offended.?
We were able to get a copy of Koncz?s letter addressed to Mauricio Sulaiman and Rex Walker which Koncz signed as ?Adviser to Manny Pacquiao? in which he stated ?we would respectfully request and propose the following:
1. That Manny Pacquiao retain his status as WBC lightweight champion.
2. That a sanctioning fee of $20,000 be paid by Manny to the WBC for the bout with De La Hoya on 12-6-08.
3. That Manny be allowed to have one more fight after the 12-6-08 bout before he is obligated to make a mandatory defense of his 135 lb lightweight title.
The requested additional bout would again be a non-title fight in the first ? of 2009 at a higher weight class against Ricky Hatton or Floyd Mayweather. 4. As to the outstanding sanction fee owed from the 3-15-08 Marquez bout as brought to our attention by the WBC in the amount of $30,000. This shall be verified by Manny and Top Rank?s accounting department and if confirmed be paid to the World Boxing Council.?
In response to our question on whether De La Hoya also had to pay a sanction fee Sulaiman responded, ?he has no fee to pay because he is not a current WBC champion. The rule applies only to a champion.?
Sulaiman claimed that Philippine Games and Amusements Board chairman Eric Buhain was ?very supportive of Manny? and that the WBC wants to handle the issue with ?the respect that Manny and the country of the Philippines as well as our organization deserve.?
Sulaiman added ?Manny is our hero and we love Manny and regret how this matter has gotten out of context. It was the convention floor that got into it. Not only about Manny but also about (Kelly) Pavlik and (Humberto) Soto.?
The WBC executive expressed the hope that the organization will get ?the opportunity to clarify any matter as the way it is published it leads to misinterpretations.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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