by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s next fight, after Shane Mosley on May 7, is likely to take place in Singapore.
Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz ,who flew to Singapore along with Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson aboard the governor’s private plane, told BoxingScene.com/Inquirer they had “met with a group of influential business people” in Singapore about the possibility of staging Pacquiao’s next fight in Singapore.
Koncz said the deal was almost 90% done and they should have a final word by the end of this week.
He clarified that the businessmen were not the owners of the new casino complexes in Singapore but there were indications that one of them may be the site of the fight.
Koncz indicated that there was no date agreed upon but said it would depend on how the fight against Mosley at the MGM Grand goes.
Koncz said “if it’s a difficult fight then Manny would probably fight in November but if its a short fight and Manny wins by an early knockout it could be much sooner.”
Singapore’s two casinos have netted the government a multi-million dollar windfall since they opened.
The casinos are at the Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands which opened with great fanfare in February and April 2010 as part of Singapore’s effort to boost the service sector and to further promote tourism.
Resorts World Sentosa is regarded as an integrated resort off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions include one of Singapore’s two casinos, a Universal Studios theme park and Marine Life Park which includes the world’s largest oceanarium. The project cost US$4.93 billion.
Marina Bay Sands which cost US$8 billion was developed by Las Vegas Sands and has a 12,000 square meter convention-exhibition center.
Meantime, Pacquiao who will defend his WBO welterweight title, said he is likely to begin training for the Mosley fight in mid-March.
Pacquiao indicated he would train for a total of eight weeks, spending one month training in Baguio City and four weeks at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
Both Roach and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza are expected to fly to the Philippines to help in Pacquiao’s preparation for the Mosley showdown.
