By Rey Danseco

 

Manny Pacquiao’s next fight may be in peril as one of the possible results of Oscar De La Hoya’s lawsuit against rival promoter Bob Arum, for the right to promote the Filipino icon.

De La Hoya and his Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions, are asking the Los Angeles Superior Court for unspecified damages and a court order preventing Arum’s Top Rank Inc. of Las Vegas from promoting Pacquiao’s next fight, slated for March.

De La Hoya insisted that other promoters, particularly Arum, may not acquire the right to promote Pacquiao until the Filipino fighter has fulfilled his seven-fight deal obligations under a contract he signed with Golden Boy Promotions several weeks ago.

The 33-year-old promoter/boxer claimed Pacquiao had made a deal with Golden Boy Promotions in September. He insisted that Pacquiao's lawyer Franklin Gacal studied and understood the contract.

"This case is but the latest example of the bitter and vindictive campaign being waged by Top Rank Inc. against Golden Boy Promotions," De La Hoya states in his lawsuit against Arum.

Arum, who turns 75 on Dec. 8, insisted that he has 4-year contract as co-promoter of Pacquiao’s next fights until at least 2010. The deal was signed prior to Pacquiao’s demolition of Erik Morales last Saturday in Las Vegas.

Arum, a cum laude from Harvard Law School and the Attorney General under the administraion of then President John F. Kennedy told the press that nobody can stop him from promoting Pacquiao’s next bout, particularly in March 2007 in Macau.

The case states that Top Rank and Arum have made a move to persuade reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera to breach his contract with Golden Boy Promotions by leaving their company in favor of Top Rank.

The lawsuit charges insisted that Arum tries to prevent the growth and success of Golden Boy, which has promotional rights among the world popular and up-and-coming fighters like WBO bantamweight champ Jhonny Gonzalez, WBO super flyweight champ Fernando Montiel, WBC super bantam king Israel Vasquez, WBO super featherweight king Joan Guzman, pound-for-pound icon Winky Wright, and former champs Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley.

Filipino fighters Gerry Penalosa, a former WBC super flyweight champ, Diosdado Gabi, Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and Z Gorres are also under the banner of Golden Boy. 

De La Hoya states in the lawsuit that Arum,“Consistently sought to bad-mouth Golden Boy and De La Hoya and has tried every trick in its book, lawful and unlawful, to slow down Golden Boy's growth and success."

De La Hoya previously fought under Top Rank until he put up his own firm in 2002 and it became the chief rival of Arum’s outfit.

De La Hoya’s first promotion featured former two-time world champ Luisito Espinosa when the original “Golden Boy” from Tondo in Manila knocked out former two-time world featherweight title challenger Ever Beleno of Colombia in just three minutes 42 seconds at Compaq Center in San Jose California.            

Last Friday (Saturday in RP), Pacquiao’s lawyer sent a letter to Golden Boy officials stating their rejection of the deal. Pacquiao also tried to return the $500,000 signing bonus he received from De La Hoya.