Manny Pac willing to fight Katsidis for the "right money".

Manny open to fight Katsidis SPORTING CHANCE By Joaquin M. Henson Sunday, September 16, 2007 Although he’s not looking past Marco Antonio Barrera, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said recently hard-hitting WBO interim lightweight champion Michael Katsidis will be considered as a future opponent “if the price is right.” Pacquiao is the heavy betting favorite to repeat over Barrera in their Las Vegas rematch on Oct. 6. Four years ago, Pacquiao blasted Barrera into submission in the 11th round in San Antonio in their first encounter. Pacquiao was asked about possible next opponents during a press conference announcing his two-year entertainment talent contract with the GMA-7 network in Quezon City last weekend. Golden Boy matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz, in a recent STAR interview, singled out Katsidis as the logical choice for Pacquiao to fight because of his exciting Arturo Gatti-type style. Pacquiao said he wouldn’t rule out Katsidis even if it means moving up to the 135-pound division. It all depends on the offer, he added. Pacquiao said he wouldn’t find it difficult fighting as a lightweight. Pacquiao, in fact, now weighs 135 but expects to scale down to the superfeatherweight limit of 130 for Barrera. Katsidis, 27, has a 23-0 record, with 20 KOs, and is coming off a bloody win on points over Czar Amonsot last July. Amonsot was later hospitalized because of slight bleeding in the head outside the brain. A Pacquiao adviser suggested Mexico’s Humberto Soto as a future opponent, too. Soto, a Top Rank fighter, has been listed as a candidate by promoter Bob Arum. It was Soto who stopped Pacquiao’s brother Bobby in the seventh round at Madison Square Garden in New York last June. But Pacquiao doubted Soto’s marketability as a pay-per-view attraction. Soto, 27, is booked to face Joan Guzman for the WBO superfeatherweight title in El Cajon on Nov. 17. Soto’s record is 42-5-2, with 26 KOs. A win over the unbeaten Guzman will bring Soto closer to a match against Pacquiao. Another candidate is Argentina’s Jorge Barrios who lost a disputed split decision to Guzman last year. Barrios, 31, has compiled a 47-3-1 record, with 34 KOs, since turning pro in 1996. Pacquiao said he’s not keen on fighting for a world title because of the high sanction fees charged by the governing bodies. He estimated an average of $150,000 is taken off the purse of a fighter in his category to pay for title recognition by a “world” organization. It is no surprise that the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch will not be a defense of the Filipino’s WBC International superfeatherweight crown although the fight is scheduled for 12 rounds. Because no title will be at stake, sanction fees are irrelevant. In the modern era of boxing, marquee fighters determine the success of the live gate and TV sales – not whether the bouts are for world championships. Regarding Pacquiao’s purse for the Barrera fight, lawyer Franklin (Jeng) Gacal was in Las Vegas for three weeks to renegotiate the original offer of a minimum $2 million paycheck and a 57-43 sharing of all income, including pay-per-view. Gacal hinted he was able to increase the minimum pay but the sharing proportion couldn’t be reworked. No figures were disclosed even as Gacal said Pacquiao was content with the final terms of the contract. Gacal said the fight contract stipulated a confidentiality condition that no figures would be disclosed to the public. Now that is a fight I would actually hand my hard earned cash over to see :)