Mula sa pagkawala ng inaasahang kikitain niyang halos $15 milyon sa kanyang megafight kay Briton Ricky Hatton, posibleng $3 milyon na lamang ang makuha ni Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao sa kanyang susunod na laban.
Ito, ayon kay Bob Arum ng Top Rank Promotions, ay bunga na rin ng kawalan ng magandang laban para sa Filipino world four-division champion bukod kay Hatton at ang retiradong si Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Sina Hatton at Mayweather, Jr. ay kapwa nasa bakuran ng Golden Boy Promotions ni Oscar Dela Hoya.
“It’s really as close to bizarre as anything I have ever been involved in. Considering what the next alternative is for Manny, this is bizarre,” ani Arum sa pagkakabasura ng Pacquiao-Hatton world light welterweight championship na itinakda sa Mayo 2.
Kabilang sa mga nag-alok ng laban kay Pacquiao na nagkakahalaga lamang ng $3 milyon ay sina American Zab Judah at Venezuelan Edwin Valero.
Nasa opsyon naman ni Arum ang pagtatapat kay Pacquiao kay Mexican Humberto Soto.
“I don’t know what really happened here but there are two things,” wika ni Arum. “One, Manny didn’t really want the fight, which I doubt. Secondly, we all know Manny is a gambler, a poker player. He probably figured if he was strong to the end, they would fold and they didn’t.”
Mula sa kampo ni Hatton, hiniling ng legal counsel nitong si Gareth Williams kay Golden Boy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Schaefer na tanungin si Mayweather kung interesado sa isang rematch kay Hatton.
“I have asked Richard Schaefer to make contact with Mayweather again to see if he is interested,” ani Williams kay Mayweather, umiskor ng isang tenth-round TKO kay Hatton sa kanilang world welterweight fight noong Disyembre ng 2007 bago magretiro. (Russell Cadayona)