Arum tiwalang mas papatok ang Pacquiao-Margarito fight

MANILA, Philippines - Sa pagbabalik ni Manny Pacquiao sa Cowboys Stadium, kumpiyansa si Bob Arum ng Top Rank Promotions na mas maraming boxing fans ang manonood sa laban nito kay Antonio Margarito sa Cowboys Stadium sa Arlington, Texas.

Noong Marso 13, halos 51,000 fans ang nanood sa matagumpay na title defense ni Pacquiao para sa kanyang suot na world welterweight crown kay challenger Joshua Clottey ng Ghana.

Naglabas si Cowboys Stadium at Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ng higit sa $7 milyon para sa Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

“If anything, Jerry is even more enthusiastic. Look, we got a huge crowd with Clottey, a fighter nobody in North Texas knew anything about,” ani Arum kay Jones. “Now we’ve got a Mexican fighter in an area with a big Mexican population. I think we can get north of 70,000 fans.”

Itinakda ang pag-aagawan nina Pacquiao at Margarito para sa nabakanteng World Boxing Council (WBC) light middleweight (154 pounds) title sa Nobyembre 13 sa Cowboys Stadium.

“Having this fight during football season also opens up all the marketing and other channels Jerry uses for the Cowboys, they will all be helping us with the promotion,” sabi ni Arum.

Ibinabandera ng 31-anyos na si Pacquiao ang kanyang 51-3-2 win-loss-draw ring record kasama ang 38 KOs, habang bitbit ng 32-anyos na si Margarito ang 38-6-0 (27 KOs) card.

Dahil ayaw bigyan ng Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) si Margarito ng boxing license, dinala ni Arum ang kanilang laban ni Pacquiao sa Texas.

 “I do feel bad, that is where I live. Las Vegas lives off gaming and a big Manny fight would have been a good financial injection for everyone. There’s nothing like a big fight in Vegas but, at the same, I couldn’t be more excited about going back to Jerry and to his stadium,” ani Arum.