By Keith Idec
Manny Pacquiao’s adviser informed rappler.com, a Manila-based website, on Thursday that a deal for the Filipino superstar to face Australia’s Jeff Horn should be finalized by the end of this week.
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, issued a Thursday deadline earlier this week for Pacquiao to let him know if he would fight Horn on July 2 in Brisbane, Australia, Horn’s hometown. Otherwise, Arum had said Pacquaio wouldn’t return to the ring until sometime in November.
Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, apparently got the answer from Pacquiao that Arum has sought since the beginning of this year.
Arum first tried to arrange a bout between Pacquiao and the unknown Horn for April 23 in Brisbane. Those negotiations stalled once Koncz and Pacquiao became interested in a supposed offer of $38 million from investors to bring a Pacquiao-Amir Khan fight to the United Arab Emirates.
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KOs) and England’s Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) announced through their social media accounts February 25 that they had agreed to terms for a fight in the UAE. A highly skeptical Arum said all along, however, that he didn’t expect those investors to deliver on their promise of a guarantee that approached $40 million.
It became clear earlier this month that the UAE money wasn’t actually available, which led to Koncz and Arum meeting at Arum’s Top Rank Inc. headquarters in Las Vegas. Arum outlined the Horn offer to Koncz during that meeting.
The Hall of Fame promoter issued the aforementioned deadline because Pacquiao hadn’t given him an answer and they were running out of time to properly promote the fight in Australia and the United States. Arum has been willing to accept criticism for Pacquiao facing the unproven Horn because Horn’s promoters from Duco Events have offered a significant amount of money to bring a Pacquiao fight to Australia.
The bout between Pacquiao and Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs), the No. 2 contender for Pacquiao’s WBO world welterweight title, is expected to take place at Suncorp Stadium. That rugby stadium can accommodate more than 50,000 fans for boxing.
The 38-year-old Pacquiao is restricted by his demanding schedule as a senator in the Philippines and can fight only in certain months of the year. He last fought November 5, when he soundly defeated Jessie Vargas by unanimous decision to win the WBO 147-pound championship.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
