Arum lies, Pacquiao fans roar, sanction fee 150K

http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m7d26-Pinocchio-strikes-Arum-lies-fans-cry-Cotto-sanction-fee-90000 Pinocchio The Promoter has struck again. I had a disquieting feeling I should have double and triple checked Bob Arum's assertion that WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto had rejected paying $400,000 out of his multimillion dollar purse to fight Manny Pacquiao Nov. 14. This was all a part of Arum making the baseless and senseless assertion that "nobody in the US cares" if Pacman-Cotto is a world title bout. Such a comment would mean that "nobody in the US cares" then about Pacman making ring history by possibly winning a record seventh weight division world title. (Oscar de la Hoya, who won six weight class world titles, might care about losing this prestigious record, don't you think?) Oh, Uncle Bob, do I have a bulging mailbag to send along to you. Your remarks have set off a firestorm for both Pacquiao and Cotto fans around the world including America. But I didn't check Arum's $400, 000 figure and I have to now report this omission as "my bad." Turns out--here's a real shocker--that Uncle Bob was prevaricating meaning lying. That is in line with his famous line about "that was yesterday, yesterday I was lying and today I am telling the truth." Or, giving Arum the benefit of the doubt on the big bout, he was merely exaggerating. Turns out Uncle Bobola was only exaggerating the single fighter sanction fee by $250,000. It is most helpful to have a calendar watch or carry a desk calendar when you are in the company of Bottom Line Bob. He is said to be more careful as to how much money his company, Top Rank, gets from the PPV, live gate and all other revenue it makes off the blood, sweat and tears of warriors such as Cotto and Pacquiao. To make sure I had the right figures, I rang up WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel who was returning from a bout in Chicago Sunday morning. Valcarcel said all fees associated with Pacquiao-Cotto would amount to $340,000 or $60,000 less than what Arum said Cotto's sanction fee would be alone. "We have no minimum sanction fee any longer," Valcarcel said. "We do have a cap and that cap is now $150,000. This is what we would require for this important title fight. "Including the fee the promoter, Arum in this case, must pay, the grand total would be $340,000, no more than that." My limited math skills show that Pacquiao pays $150,000 and Cotto pays the same amount. Arum pays a trifling $40,000 or something less and the title match is good to go. As an accountant friend of mine points out, both the fighters and Arum are likely to be able to deduct such "reasonable and necessary expenses" from their income tax reports. Some of the promoter fee money goes into the WBO's not for profit Welfare Fund. You can be skeptical about the Welfare Fund but I do know that Valcarcel, WBO president, has given money from the fund to ill equipped boxing gyms in Central and South America. The fund is supposed to give its money to "educational, rehabilitative and research" related to boxing and to "other social causes." "We're building or providing money for boxing gyms and programs also in Africa, in Asia and in Chicago and Los Angeles," Valcarcel said.