Finkel sees ‘career-building’ fight for Manny

Boxing manager Shelly Finkel said yesterday he foresees a "career-building" fight for Manny Pacquiao when the two-time Filipino world champion battles Erik Morales of Mexico in a 12-round pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Sunday morning (Manila time).

In an e-mail to The STAR from Las Vegas, Finkel said the much-awaited clash "will be seen by millions of people world-wide and beating a great fighter like Morales should boost Manny’s career."

Finkel, 60, declined to predict exactly how the bout will end but said, "I am very optimistic because Manny has trained very well and is in great spirits and in great shape."

Pacquiao himself has not made a prediction of whether he will win by knockout or by decision. All he has promised is he will fight to the best of his ability and he won’t let his countrymen down.

"I believe it will end with Manny being victorious," said Finkel in a short-and-sweet forecast.

Finkel said he expects the 14,500-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena to sell out and pay-per-view sales to hit the roof.

Morales’ rubber match against Marco Antonio Barrera last November drew 11,162 fans and 325,000 pay-per-view buys for a gross of $14.6 Million. A few days ago, it was reported by Las Vegas Sun columnist Jeff Haney that the Pacquiao-Morales fight had already sold 11,500 tickets and about 1,500 walk-ins were expected from Mexicans living in Tijuana.

Finkel said he’s not thinking beyond the Morales fight but was open to a rematch against Barrera in Pacquiao’s next outing.

"I don’t like to plan ahead until after the fight but Barrera is one of the fights we would like," he noted.

Finkel has managed a slew of fighters like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Vinnie Pazienza, Johnny Bumphus, Pernell Whitaker, Mike McCallum, Michael Moorer, Zab Judah, Jeff Lacy, Juan Diaz, Mark Breland and the Klitschko brothers but when asked to name a fighter approximating Pacquiao’s charisma, he hesitated.

"Yes, I think Manny has a lot of charisma," said Finkel. Pacquiao inked a two-year deal to be managed by Finkel after Marty Elorde’s contract expired last Jan. 31.

Finkel was once described by Boxing Digest writer Don Majeski as "boxing’s last great manager, perhaps the only manager around today." Finkel said he does not promote fighters and only manages them.

The Pacquiao-Morales fight is co-promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank and Murad Muhammad of M&M Promotions. Finkel has nothing to do with the promotion.

Curiously, Finkel became known as a promoter of rock concerts before starting a professional boxing stable in 1977. He made history by staging a concert featuring the Allman Brothers, The Band and Grateful Dead on a speedway in a farm at Watkins Glen, New York, before a record 600,000 fans in 1973. Two of the rock groups he managed were Vanilla Fudge and Mountain.

Asked by Jeff Ryan of KO Magazine to describe the most satisfying moment of his career, Finkel replied:

"There are many moments in the music business that were gratifying at different stages. Watkins Glen, the largest concert, was one of them. Earlier on, presenting Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Chambers Brothers, those moments were just as exciting. It was very satisfying when Whitaker won the title over Greg Haugen because we fought very hard to get the deal with Haugen. The most thrilling probably in boxing was the moment when Evander won the heavyweight title because it was the heavyweight title!

"You want things for people and it’s not just money-motivated. I want things for people who are decent people and when any of those things come, I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to make a contribution to it.