By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has squelched all talk about the WBO welterweight title fight between Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao and champion Miguel Cotto set f or the MGM Grand on November 14 being in jeopardy.
In a conversation with BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports on Sunday morning (Manila Time) the astute promoter said everything is fine. "It’s one hundred percent. The fight will be at 145 pounds and it will be for a world welterweight championship.”
At the same time we learned that the plan to pitch Pacquiao’s training camp in the Bahamas may be junked because of the hurricanes that hit the region and the casinos and other distractions.
Instead, Pacquiao may opt to train in Mexico as promoter Fernando Beltran has suggested the same sprawling training camp used by Erik “El Terrible” Morales in the cool and refreshing mountains of Otomi .
Should Pacquiao decide to train in the Otomi, it would also help keep many of the so-called LA Boys away since some of them reportedly don’t have passports and can’t get a Mexican visa because they live in the US illegally.
Canada was also suggested as a possible training site but the weather would be too cold at the time of the year when Pacquiao starts training.
Arum explained to us early this week the reasons for Pacquiao’s decision to train most of the time outside the US before winding down his preparation at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.
Arum said the US Internal Revenue Service had changed its rules and explained that “In 2007 its one-sixth of the days spent in the US, 2008 its one-third of the days spent which will be added to 100 percent of the days spent in the US in 2009 and if the total of those three numbers equals or exceeds 183 days then you are taxed on all your revenues from worldwide income.”
Arum said should Pacquiao “train full-time in the US for this fight the account said he would be coming very, very close to the 183 number so he wants to avoid that, obviously. In order to avoid it you cut down on the number of days he spends in the US and by training in the Bahamas (which was mentioned at that time) he wouldn’t be subject to the 183 day rule.”
