Mobile  |  About us  |  Photos  |  Videos  |  Subscriptions  |  RSS Feeds  |  Today's Paper  |  Classifieds  |  Contact Us
The Daily Star
SATURDAY, 26 MAY 2012
07:24 PM Beirut time
Weather    
Beirut
22 °C
Blom Index
1,164.1up
A+ A-
     
 
Advanced Search
Volleyball  
Pacquiao camp: No fight with Mayweather on May 5
Associated Press
pacquiao-vs-de-la-hoja
pacquiao-vs-de-la-hoja

MANILA, Philippines: Manny Pacquiao’s camp says there is no economic sense in setting up a bout with Floyd Mayweather on May 5 after the unbeaten American publicly challenged the Filipino champion via Twitter. Pacquiao’s financial adviser Michael Koncz told the Associated Press Thursday that a 45,000-seat boxing arena being built in Las Vegas won’t be finished before the end of May and staging the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in a smaller venue is “foolish from an economic standpoint.”

Mayweather challenged and taunted Pacquiao to a May 5 bout in a tweet Tuesday. “Manny Pacquiao I’m calling you out let’s fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see,” he tweeted.

Mayweather is available for a fight in May at the MGM Grand Garden after a judge agreed last week to postpone his jail sentence for domestic violence until June. Mayweather was sentenced to 87 days in jail, but likely will serve less time.

The MGM Grand only seats about 17,000, which could fetch around $20 million in sales, but the larger arena could raise an additional $30 million, Koncz said.

“Why would I tell Manny to fight on the 5th and throw away a percentage of 30 million? That’s crazy,” he said.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has told the Philippines’ GMA television the only reason the fight won’t happen is if there is an “economic problem.”

He said the fight “could happen very, very easily” at the end of May – enough time to build the outdoor arena “the fight so badly needs.”

“I will also guarantee Manny’s purse,” he said. “In other words, Manny doesn’t want to go into the ring and just fight out a percentage.”

He said Mayweather is looking for “outside parties to guarantee his end of the purse.”

“So, until he finds the angel, there is no fight,” Arum said.

In a separate interview with GMA, Pacquiao said that if Mayweather agrees to a “50-50 sharing, there will be no problem.”

“The purse is not the issue right now, the date is,” Koncz said.

“But we don’t have a problem splitting it 50-50.”

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight may be the most lucrative bout in boxing history.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on January 13, 2012, on page 14.
Home Volleyball
 
 
Pacquiao / Lebanon
Advertisement
Comments  
Your feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article.

Disclaimer: Comments submitted by third parties on this site are the sole responsibility of the individual(s) whose content is submitted. The Daily Star accepts no responsibility for the content of comment(s), including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Please note that your email address will NOT appear on the site. All fields are mandatory.

Name *
Email *
Country *
City *
Comment
*
Word Count: Left:
Toolbox
print
email
e-paper
e-paper
Advertisement
Most Popular
Viewed Searched e-mailed
1. Lebanese abducted in Syria free in Turkey, waiting to come home
 
2. Hezbollah says for unconditional dialogue, thanks Hariri for hostage release efforts
 
3. Syria grain trade signals alarm for Assad
 
4. In a first, U.S. declares 5 million Palestinians to be refugees: report
 
5. Over 90 killed in Syria massacre: activists
 
6. Lebanon accuses Israel of Shebaa Farms violation
Advertisement
 
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Linked In Follow us on Google+ Subscribe to our Live Feed
 
Multimedia
Images Video  
Pictures of the Day
A selection of images from around the world- Thursday May 24, 2012
View all view all
Rami G. Khouri
Rami G. Khouri
Egyptians as they really are, for once
Michael Young
Michael Young
Will Tripoli make Samir Geagea pay?
David Ignatius
David Ignatius
A string of detonators cuts through the Middle East
View all view all
 
cartoon
 
Click to View Articles
Advertisement
 
 
News
Business
Opinion
Sports
Culture
Technology
Entertainment
Privacy Policy | Anti-Spamming Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright Notice
© 2011 The Daily Star - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Developed By IDS