MAYWEATHER FIGHT ADDED MOTIVATION FOR PACQUIAO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 22 Nov 2013
A possible mega-buck fight against pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr is an added motivation for ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao to score an impressive win over former lightweight champion Brandon ?Bam Bam? Rios when they engage each other in the ?Clash in Cotai? in Macau on Sunday, Manila Time.
Pacquiao told the Manila Standard during his training camp that his career is far from over despite back-to-back defeats last year and that he is eager to prove he is ready to return as one of today's elite elite fighters.
Another incentive for Pacquiao is the specially crafted WBO International belt ordered by President Francisco ?Paco? Valcarcel for the welterweight clash which WBO vice president for Asia Leon Panoncillo who will be the fight supervisor described as ?a historic belt for a historic fight? being the first real big title fight to take place in China with Pacquiao representing Asia and Rios the West.
Arum meantime has reiterated what he said last November 3 when he was guest on Australia?s 1116 SEN Radio on the program ?Evenings with Mark Fine? which on Mondays also features well-known Australian boxing promoter Peter Maniatis
Arum, in a story in the Manila Standard said he believed that if Pacquiao shows that he?s back with a big win over Rios then a fight against pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr can happen.
Arum said ?The only major impediment is that Mayweather now fights for Showtime and Manny for HBO? but cited a precedent ?when they had the same situation years ago where Lennox Lewis was an HBO fighter and Mile Tyson fought for Showtime.?
He noted that the two networks ?came together and shared responsibilities of promoting the pay per view and it worked out really well.?
Arum feels that ?if Manny demonstrates that he?s back and there?s a public outcry, we should be able to get it done.?
The astute promoter made it clear that ?the public doesn?t want to know about backroom strategies and negotiations. They just want to see the two guys get into the ring, fighting each other.?
Arum said a possible date may be in the second half of 2014.
He maintained that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight ?would be great for boxing and its hard to justify if it doesn?t happen? pointing out that ?the best tennis players play each other, the best soccer teams play each other and in American football the two best teams from each conference face each other in the SuperBowl.?
Arum said ?there is no reason? not to make a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight happen and if it doesn?t happen ?it looks bad for boxing? and that for his part he wants to make the fight and a first step should be to tone down the rhetoric between both sides.
Meantime, award-winning Aussie boxing promoter Maniatis told the Standard from Macau that he expects Pacquiao who has more muscle and more strength to batter Rios" on Sunday.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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