Boxing News: Bob Arum guarantees Pacquiao will get $20m fight purse regardless of opponent
Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum has guaranteed that Manny Pacquiao will get a big chunk of money from the profit of his farewell fight early next year regardless of which foe the Filipino boxing icon selects.
In a report from ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Arum hinted that Pacquiao will pick his next opponent by Friday from a three-man list that includes Amir Khan, Terence Crawford and Timothy Bradley. Arum also revealed that regardless of who Pacquiao picks as his next and final opponent on April 9, the former eight-division titlist will still bag home $20 million from the fight’s profits.
Considering the lack of star power from Pacquiao’s list of opponents, it seems unlikely that the Filipino fighter would net a huge amount from his last fight if he chooses Bradley or Crawford. Khan would be the most ideal opponent for Pacquiao’s last hurrah if they would like to consider the amount of PPV buys. However, Arum said he does not prefer the Bolton welterweight getting picked by Pacquiao next year.
“Would I prefer it not to be Khan? Yes, but this is Manny’s last fight,” Arum added. “Khan was an option when we considered having this fight in April in the Middle East, so he was a guy on the table. Now the Middle East is not on the table, but he’s still one of the guys on the table.”
According to Chris Williams of Boxing News 24, Arum might be thinking of turning Crawford, a Top Rank fighter, into a PPV star if he gets to fight Pacquiao.
“I think Arum believes that Crawford will turn into a PPV star if he fights Pacquiao,” Williams wrote. “Unfortunately, if it was that easy to turn a fighter into a PPV star, then Juan Manuel Marquez, Algier, Rios, Bradley, Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito would have all been turned into PPV attractions after their fights with Pacquiao.”
Boxing fans are eager to find out Pacquiao’s next opponent, but if the list only features Khan, Bradley, and Crawford, it may not be enticing as the Filipino’s previous fights in the past years.
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