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WORLD
super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez may now
be running out of gimmicks to lure Filipino boxing
superstar Manny Pacquiao to a return bout.
The
Mexican world champion, wanting to get the attention of
Pacquiao, could say nothing but label the Filipino pride
a coward when asked by Mexican media to describe the
Filipino’s reluctance in facing him.
The
28-year-old Pacquiao, recently installed as the
mandatory title challenger to Marquez’s World Boxing
Council (WBC) crown, has shown little interest in facing
the 33-year-old Mexican.
Despite
Marquez’s reign as WBC champion, Pacquiao remains as the
top moneyman in the division as a bout with the Filipino
warrior will easily mean a million-dollar paycheck to a
worthy competitor.
Marquez
won the crown with a convincing 12-round decision over
compatriot Marco Antonio Barrera on March in
Las Vegas.
Though
the Marquez-Pacquiao bout is without doubt the most
anticipated in their division, there remains a single
but major stumbling block for the duel to happen.
Golden
Boy Promotions (GBP) and Top Rank Inc. remain in the
middle of a bitter legal dispute on the promotional
rights to Pacquiao.
The
Filipino boxing icon signed two identical promotional
deals with the GBP owned by boxing superstar Oscar de la
Hoya and Top Rank Inc. of Bob Arum.
Pacquiao
entered into a seven-fight deal with GBP September last
year and received a $500,000 signing bonus.
After
his three-round conquest of Erik Morales late last year,
Pacquiao signed a similar promotional deal with Top Rank
with a reported $1-million bonus.
Two
cases are being heard in
Los Angeles
and Las Vegas on the promotional mess.
Although
the matter is still being litigated, Pacquiao has been
recently dealing with Top Rank. His most recent fight
that resulted to an eighth-round knockout victory over
Mexican Jorge Solis, was promoted by Top Rank last month
at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Marquez, on the
other hand, fights under the GBP banner.
In an
e-mail to BusinessMirror, WBC executive Mauricio
Sulaiman disclosed that the camp of Pacquiao recently
sent them a letter stating their plan of not
participating in a purse bid with the camp of Marquez.
“Pacquiao told us that although they are proud to be a
challenger of the WBC belt, they are not at the moment
interested in participating in a purse bid with
Marquez,” said Sulaiman.
The
Mexico-based group recently set a deadline for the
Pacquiao camp and their counterpart in Team Marquez to
work out a deal for their much-awaited title clash.
The
33-year-old Marquez is due for a mandatory title defense
against the top contender who happens to be Pacquiao.
The WBC
is giving both the Marquez and Pacquiao camps until June
18 to finalize a deal.
In May
2004 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Marquez
survived three knockdowns in the opening round and eked
out a close 12-round split draw over Pacquiao.
*****
Training goes on while pugs await Oscar’s
word
WORLD
Cup or no World Cup, all the top Filipino boxers under
the dreaded ALA Boxing Gym are raring to take on the
best fighters of their respective division.
 Top
super-bantamweight challenger Rey “Boom Boom”
Bautista, one-time super-flyweight title
challenger Z Gorres and promising AJ “Bazooka”
Banal are currently working out at the ALA Gym
as they wait for any concrete plans of their American
promoter Golden Boy Promotions (GBP).
For
about a year already, the three boxers are touted as
opponents of Mexican world champions who will headline
the proposed Philippines vs. Mexico World Cup of Boxing
sometime this year.
According to respected Cebu businessman and ALA main man
Tony Aldeguer, he is just waiting for GBP executives to
come up with their immediate plans regarding their
fighters.
The
20-year-old Bautista is aching to lock horns with World
Boxing Organization (WBO) 122-lb champion Daniel Ponce
de Leon of Mexico, while Gorres is said to be one of the
priorities of super-flyweight champion Fernando Montiel
in a rematch.
Aldeguer
said his main concern is to stage the Ponce de
Leon-Bautista title fight here in the
Philippines
sometime within the year.
“I sent
them a letter and told them about our readiness to
promote Bautista’s title fight here in the
Philippines,”
said Aldeguer in a long-distance interview with the
BusinessMirror.
Aldeguer
is still waiting for GBP’s reply on his insistence of
holding the Ponce de Leon-Bautista fight here in the
Philippines. The Candijay-native fighter is coming off a
convincing 12-round title eliminator win over Sergio
Manuel Medina of Argentina on May 6 at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena.
Aldeguer
also revealed his reluctance in hosting the World Cup in
the Philippines. “I’m not about ready to lose my
lifetime savings in that project,” said Aldeguer. He
disclosed that they need at least $1.2 million to put on
the World Cup here.
Aldeguer
told BusinessMirror that GBP vice president Eric Gomez
sent him an e-mail and proposed the Arco Arena in
Sacramento,
California,
as a possible venue for the World Cup sometime in
August.
“I’m
really not into that World Cup thing at this point. My
main concern is Bautista’s title fight here in the
Philippines,” added Aldeguer. “I believe Boom Boom can
either knock Ponce de Leon out or score a convincing
decision.”
As for
Gorres, Aldeguer said it is imprudent to spend millions
to give Gorres a rematch with Montiel. “We beat him
already. I’m not foolish to let them cart away more
money at my boys’ expense,” disclosed Aldeguer.
Aldeguer
was referring to the Montiel-Gorres clash on February in
Cebu where experts opined that the Filipino fighter got
robbed of a clear-cut victory despite being twice
penalized for excessive holding during the latter part
of their 12-round WBO title encounter.
Aldeguer
said he wants Gorres to get a nontitle fight against a
world-ranked opponent then vie for either the
International Boxing Federation (IBF) or World
Boxing Association titles.
The IBF
crown is currently vacant but will be disputed by
Russian Dimitri Kirilov and Mexican Ricardo Vargas on
June 30 in Moscow. |
