'More ego than money'

N.B. I have received traffic from outside the Philippines with 100% bouncing rate, so I decided to write in English.

For the past few days we have been discussing money and its effects to the sport (boxing) we all love. How, for example, someone like World Boxing Organization bantam weight champion Gerry Peñalosa contributes to the death of the sport by promoting lousy fights.

Yesterday, we also talked about how the recent disagreement on the income sharing between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton is causing an embarassment and headache to their respective promoters, especially Bob Arum of Top Rank who had been so vocal and so excited about the fight.

The second is the most controversial one mainly because of the respect and the fame of the people involved. After Pacquiao's fight with Oscar "Black and Blue" Dela Hoya, Pacquiao and Hatton's team, Top Rank and Golden Boy promotions reportedly met and agreed on a 50-50 split for the fight between the two world's greatest fighters, Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. They have also set a date, May 2, and the venue, Las Vegas.

When Manny Pacquiao however arrived in Manila, his lawyer Franklin "Geng" Gacal gave interview on ABS-CBN saying Manny Pacquiao deserves a 60-40 split of the income in his fight with Hatton. Pacquio's close friend and adviser Rex "Wakee" Salud seconded Gacal, although it was reported yesterday that he had changed his mind and instead he promised to convince Pacquiao to accept the 50-50 deal.

Those pronouncement by Geng and Wakee (before he changed his mind) were repeated and aired in different media outlets. The same pronouncement peeved Bob Arum considering that both were not present during the negotiation where the 50-50 split was agreed upon.

Which led us to question, how come a negotiation happened without Pacquio's lawyer by his side? Who were the peole around Pacquiao during the negotiations?

With all the support Bob Arum had shown to Pacquiao (attending his birthday party in GenSan, and the other occasion were Bob went to GenSan), we did not believe Bob Arum would put Manny's interest in jeopardy by promoting a fight were Manny will get less than what he deserves. But with the reaction his lawyer and his statements after his arrival in Manila, it seemed to me that Manny had lost his trust in Bob Arum. Manny even had the courage to say yesterday that if his promoters could not come up with an offer better than a 50-50 for him, his fight with Ricky Hatton will not happen.

Ray Hatton, Ricky's father, and Gareth Williams, Ricky's lawyer, warned Pacquiao that they already had a verbal agreement and that, if needed, they would go to court to inforce that contract. Besides, they claim they were reasonable even from the beginning saying that: 1. They agreed on the US location although they would have preferred UK, 2. They agreed on a May 2 fight although they would have preferred a schedule later in May. Besides, they claim, Ricky will bring in a lot of money from UK's television networks. So in terms of money, Ricky is bringing in a lion's share, one of them stated.

All those arguments did not convince Pacquiao. But for some reasons, after talking with Bob Arum, Pacquiao's close friend and adviser Rex "Wakee" Salud changed his mind and promised to convince Manny to agree on a 50-50 split.

In the newspaper today, Bob Arum promised that he will find a solution and was quoted as saying: "when we are involved in this type of situation it very, very frankly becomes more ego than money. It takes time to massage every body and get it done. But if I were a betting man, I would say it will happen before the end of this weekend."

Surely, Arum was referring to Manny Pacquiao's ego when he said "it...becomes more ego than money." It is Manny Pacquiao alone who is complaining anyway, and it was he who beat Osacar used to be "Golden Boy" Dela Hoya, the highest paid boxer in the world.

Arum was further quoted: "Wise guy Floyd Mayweather Jr. pushed and pushed and got 60-40 deal and gave up the English television rights, sacrificed his share of $18 million."

We hope they resolve this problem because more than ever, the world is excited to see Manny and Ricky kill each other in the ring. If not the world, at least the Philippines will surely freeze when that day comes; and with Bob Arum's experience in dealing with boxers, coupled with his promise that he will find a solution, we are positive that the fight will happen.

As to Manny, he has gone a long way and we have seen him grow in size, speed, skill and in his faith. He has fought fearlessly and triumphed in the ring. But he is to fight another of his greatest personnal fights. A fight he has to wage not agaisnt a person who punches back, but against himself. He will need more than his speed and his skill as a boxer to be humble enough to admit and to correct whatever mistakes and miscalculations he has committed leading to his fight with England's best, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton.