by Ronnie Nathanielsz
TOP Rank promoter Bob Arum has upped the ante, following Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s offer to pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao of a guaranteed $40-million dollar purse, with the American boxer retaining all of the pay-per-view income for a May 5th mega-unification.
Should a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight eventually happen, it is expected to bring in an additional revenue of around $150 million.
Mayweather made the counter-offer after Pacquiao told him during a telephone conversation when the American boxer called the Filipino’s adviser Michael Koncz, that a 50-50 split was fair and reasonable.
“I am offering Mayweather $45 million under the same terms he offered Pacquiao,” Arum told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard, in reaction to the Mayweather offer.
Arum also clarified the situation with regard to Pacquiao’s earnings in several of his Las Vegas fights, which were published by several media outlets. He said that under the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the fighters need to be paid on the night of a fight.
To meet this requirement, Arum paid the NSAC $6 million for Pacquiao in his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, which the commission paid to the Filipino after the fight and which could be cashed the next day.
Arum indicated this was in order to comply with the requirements, even as he pointed out that “in the long form contract,” a copy of which is given the Internal Revenue Service, Pacquiao’s guarantee for the Marquez fight was $22 million, which was paid in full within 10 days, even though the contract stipulated it could be paid within two months.
The Top Rank promoter said that with the pay-per-view income, which up to now hasn’t all come in, Pacquiao will earn an additional $5 million, above his guaranteed purse for a total income of $30 million.
“We give the IRS tax people a copy of the real contract and we don’t avoid paying the proper taxes,” said Arum.
Meanwhile, although Mayweather Jr. has applied for a license from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, there is no certainty that the commission will grant him one for his announced May 5 fight.
The commission is headed by its current chairman Raymond “Skip” Avansino Jr., Francisco Aguilar, Bill Brady, Pat Lundvall and TJ Day.
For one thing, Mayweather hasn’t signed up an opponent yet and the possibility of a fight against Pacquiao looks most unlikely after the American made what Team Pacquiao brands as ridiculous offers.
