By Edward Chaykovsky
On November 23rd in Macao, China, Manny Pacquiao will have his first overseas fight since a 2006 decision victory over Oscar Larios in Quezon City in Manila. Next month he will battle Brandon Rios, who moves up from junior welterweight to take the fight. Pacquiao's decision to stage his next fight overseas was motivated by the heavy taxation that he faces when fighting in the United States.
"The one thing we had going for us, you have to remember, is the tremendous savings, as far as Manny Pacquiao is concerned, is he doesn’t have to pay U.S. taxes at 39.6%, so any arithmetic that we did, how well we would do or how well we wouldn’t do, had to take into account the enormous tax savings. As far as Brandon Rios is concerned, we are American citizens and we have to pay taxes on our share of the money. For Manny it makes an enormous difference," Arum said.
Arum says it is certainly probable that Pacquiao's next fight will also take place overseas. The veteran promoter no longer views the United States as a country of choice to stage events that involve the Filpino star.
"The world has changed. There are revenue sources that are huge outside of the United States. And it’s not only Macau – look what happened in Russia where somebody paid $23 million for a heavyweight match because they knew in Russia they could generate huge amounts of money from sponsorships and tickets. This is no longer a U.S. ballgame. For example, if Manny were to fight Márquez, the optimum amount of money to be generated could be in Mexico rather than in the United States," Arum said.
That doesn't mean if the right offer comes along, that Pacquiao would once again fight in the United States.
"Economically, if everything works out, Manny has nothing against fighting in the United States. As long as it makes sense," Arum said.
