Arum due today for Pacman campaign

Top Rank’s Bob Arum is expected to hit town today and will proceed to Gen. Santos City to fulfill a previous commitment to help boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in his campaign for a congressional seat in Monday’s elections.

"I am here to do what I promised. I am here for Manny no matter what," Arum told Philboxing.com during a stopover in Vancouver, Canada from Las Vegas on the way to Manila.

During his training for his fight against Jorge Solis, whom he knocked out in the eighth round last month, Pacquiao invited Arum to come over to the Philippines and help him in his bid in the May 14 polls.

"I have decided to accept his invitation to go to Gen. Santos city to stump for him. With all his success, Manny has not lost touch with the people," said Arum, a lawyer who once served in the US Justice Dept. during John F. Kennedy’s presidency.

Meanwhile, new boxing stars Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and A.J. Banal also arrive today from Las Vegas where they fashioned out a pair of impressive victories in the undercard of the Oscar de la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena over the weekend.

The 20-year-old Bautista stopped the previously unbeaten Sergio Medina of Argentina via a unanimous 12-round decision while Banal, 18, bucked a point deduction for low blow and hacked out a unanimous eight-round decision over Mexican Juan Alberto Rosas.

After a one-night stay in Manila, the duo will leave for Cebu where a grand celebration is lined up for the two fighters tipped as the next Filipino boxing superstars.

When asked to Pacquiao’s possible next opponent, Arum said the power-punching Filipino fighter might be seeing action again sometime in November with anyone from Joan Guzman, Humberto Soto to Marco Antonio Barrera mentioned as his likely rival.

"If Manny wins, that will make him a very, very unique individual and that would open a lot of possibilities for him," said the 75-year-old Arum.

Pacquiao, 28, is running for Congress against incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio in one of the most awaited congressional battles in local poll history.

This marks the third time that Arum will visit the country. The first was in 1975 when he helped promote the Ali-Frazer Thrilla in Manila and the second last December when he announced Pacquiao’s tie-up with Top Rank.