PACQUIAO WON?T GIVE IN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 16 Jan 2009
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is standing firm by his decision demanding a 60-40 revenue split in his megabuck showdown with IBO light welterweight champion Ricky ?The Hitman? Hatton planned for Las Vegas on May 2.
Pacquiao told well-known reporter Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN that ?If there is no change in the 50-50 sharing, the fight will not happen.?
Pacquiao whose lawyer Franklin ?Jeng? Gacal had earlier been given a Friday deadline by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to make up their minds on the sharing, turned it around and instead and said ?I will give them time until February and if they don?t come up with anything new they better look for another opponent.?
But that?s exactly what Hatton?s father, Ray Hatton told www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports the other day. He said if Pacquiao insists on a 60-40 sharing and not the previously agreed upon 50-50 with Arum, Pacquiao?s promoter, then ?the fight won?t happen?.
Hatton claimed there were three or four opponents lining up to fight Hatton because the Manchester fighter would draw at least 80,000 fight fans and this would be a good payday.
Hatton?s lawyer Gareth Williams meantime has threatened legal action claiming they had a verbal contract with Arum who is authorized to negotiate on behalf of Pacquiao There are provisions under the law which make a verbal contract binding subject to providing proof.
One of Pacquiao?s close friends Rex ?Wakee? Salud told us that Arum had called him Thursday morning and explained the benefits that would accrue to Pacquiao from a 50-50 split and confirming that he would be entitled to a share of the pay-per-view TV rights in Britain which he said would be huge.
Salud who had postured earlier stating that Pacquiao was the bigger draw and should get a 65-35 share of the revenues turned around after the Arum call and said 50-50 was a good deal and he would try to convince Pacquiao to accept. But apparently Pacquiao?s is firm he wants 60-40 or at the least something better than a 50-50 split.
All this has clearly peeved Arum whose name is on the line since he had effectively committed that the fight would take place in conversations with the Hatton people and after an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. Arum had said effectively he " could care less."
Schaefer himself has said he would pull the plug on the fight if Pacquiao takes any longer to agree and said the Filipino could go fight someone else and earn less money.
After his conversation with Salud and other supposed advisers of Pacquiao, Arum was quoted as saying things had calmed down and they were ?under control.? Based on what Pacquiao told Castillejo however, things are far from being under control and as of Thursday there was no deal.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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