PACQUIAO MAY BE SIDELINED
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 20 Mar 2007
With the statement of Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer that the pre-eminent pay-per-view network HBO had set aside a September 16 date for a possible rematch between newly crowned super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and legendary Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera from whom he won the title, it seems Manny Pacquiao may be sidelined.
Pacquiao’s decision to turn his back and ignore a seven-fight contract he signed with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions in mid-September and to instead honor a four-year deal he signed two months later with Top Rank Promotions Bob Arum for more money - $1 million compared to Golden Boy’s $500,000 – may hurt him in the long run.
After the Marquez-Barrera fight Schaefer said HBO had set aside a date in the week of Mexican Independence Day and they were "shooting for that date" although he conceded that Golden Boy will have to talk to the Barrera camp since Marquez indicated he was prepared to accept a rematch "right away." That means all the hopes and the hype of a possible Pacquiao-Marquez rematch or even a rematch between Pacquiao and Barrera look dim.
While Golden Boy decided to leave Pacquiao out of its legal battle with Arum for "tortuous interference" in the contract they had signed with Pacquiao it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are disposed towards doing Pacquiao any favors since, right now at least, they have the best fighters in their ranks with the most lucrative and exciting fights up ahead.
Aside from Marquez and Barrera who have both said they would like to settle a score with Pacquiao, Golden Boy also handles Joan Guzman and even undefeated Edwin Valero should he be cleared to fight in the US.
On the other hand Arum can only pick a fighter like Jorge Solis who may be undefeated but is unknown even to Mexicans. A future clash with WBC No. 2 contender Humberto Solis who Arum handles is a possibility but it is still nowhere near the kind of excitement and money a fight with Barrera or Marquez could generate.
Pacquiao’s best hope is that the courts will soon resolve with finality the issue of who has the legal right to promote Pacquiao – Golden Boy or Top Rank. If the court tules in favor of Golden Boy then there should be no problem getting Pacquiao the big fights while if the court rules in favor of Top Rank it won’t be easy but it can be done.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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