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Pacquiao agrees to 52-48 By Nick Giongco
Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton will slug it out on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after both camps reportedly agreed to a 52-48 compromise in pay-per-view revenue.
The British press reported that Pacquiao will get the bigger percentage, but not the 60-40 he earlier demanded.
Although Pacquiao was willing to settle for 55-45 revenue split, Top Rank boss Bob Arum managed to reduce the number to 52-48 in the last few days to save the fight from being canceled.
The Guardian newspaper said Arum is set to make a formal announcement on Friday when all contracts are signed by the two parties.
Pacquiao is booked to leave Friday for Los Angeles to watch the fight pitting Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley on Saturday at the Staples Center. Top Rank and GBP are co-promoting the Margarito-Mosley showdown.
After a trip to Bacolod and Cebu, Pacquiao is back in General Santos City and is expected to be in Manila on Thursday to attend to personal commitments.
The fight is expected to generate a big amount of money from pay-per-view earnings not only because Hatton is huge in England but owing to Pacquiao’s incredible appeal as well.
When Hatton fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in late-2007, the pay-per-view reached 1.4 million buys in the United Kingdom alone but when he squared off with a lesser-known foe, the numbers went down in dramatic fashion.
Pacquiao had insisted that he deserves the bigger share owing to his status as the world’s No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound.
Hatton, on the other hand, had used his popularity as leverage in fighting for an equal sharing of the profits.
Pacquiao is coming off an eight-round TKO of Oscar De La Hoya and holds impressive wins over Mexico’s best bets, while Hatton boasts of big victories over American Paulie Malignaggi in his last outing and Australia-based Russian Kostya Tszyu some years back.
http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20090121146194.html
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