MANILA, Philippines – Kung muling lalaban si Filipino world eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao ay hindi na naman ito mangyayari sa United States.
Ito, ayon kay Bob Arum ng Top Rank Promotions, ay para makaiwas sa pagbabayad ng mahal na buwis sa US.
Sinabi ni Arum na masaya siya sa pagtangkilik ng mga boxing fans sa dalawang beses na pagdaraos ng laban ni Pacquiao sa Macau, China.
“It’s good for a fight that takes place in Macau,” sabi ni Arum. “If it takes place out of the U.S., that’s an automatic 40-50 percent reduction. There is no ESPN around the clock, not all the media is involved. In the U.S., that fight does 700-800,000 buys.”
“This goes back to ancient times. The worst performing fight in the Ali-Frazier trilogy was the Thrilla in Manila because it took place outside the country. Even the Ali-Foreman fight didn’t perform that well in closed circuit in the U.S. People say, ‘Well why are you doing it?’ It’s because of the tremendous amount that we make in China,” dagdag pa ng 82-anyos na promoter.
Unang lumaban ang 35-anyos na si Pacquiao sa Macau, China noong Nobyembre ng 2013 kung saan niya dinomina si Brandon ‘Bam Bam’ Rios sa loob ng 12 rounds.
Anim na beses namang pinabagsak ni Pacquiao si Chris Algieri patungo sa kanyang unanimous decision victory noong nakaraang Nobyembre 23.
Ang naturang dalawang laban ni ‘Pacman’ ay idinaos sa Cotai Arena sa The Venetian.
Kamakailan ay nag-alok si promoter M. Akbar Muhammad, isang boxing executive at kasama sa Abu Dhabi-based investment group, ng pinagsamang $200 milyon bilang premyo nina Pacquiao at Floyd Mayweather, Jr. para sa kanilang laban sa United Arab Emirates.
“If Mayweather signs on, if the deal with us is OK, we have no objection to fighting in Abu Dhabi,” wika ni Arum.