Pacquiao may not see need to pay WBC

Based on what he said last week, even before the pricey WBC issue came up, Manny Pacquiao isn’t sure whether or not he’ll ever defend the WBC lightweight crown he won over David Diaz last June.

“Ang totoo kasi reduced na ako sa lightweight (The truth is I’m reduced at lightweight),” he said, hinting that making 135 pounds is already quite a tall order for the 29-year-old star.

“Kaya pag-iisipan ko muna yan. Sa ngayon focus lang muna ako dito sa fight at wala akong ibang iisipin (I will think it over. Right now I’m focusing on my fight and not worrying about other things),” he said.

Pacquiao will go up against Oscar dela Hoya on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight is pegged at 147 pounds and the outcome may help Pacquiao decide about his future.

Win or lose, Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach have said they wanted Ricky Hatton next at 140 pounds. Or even Floyd Mayweather Jr. who might come out of retirement if dared and challenged.

In fact, it was reported that the Filipino camp had already informed the WBC of the possibility of these two future fights, short of asking the WBC to freeze the 135-pound title.

Under WBC rules, a champion has one year to defend his title, and if he fails, he gets stripped of the crown, and a new champion is determined.

And since Pacquiao had announced his plans to retire next year, it’s now highly-possible that he’d never defend the 135 pound crown.

So why pay the WBC $100,000 now if he’ll let go of the lightweight crown later on?

Some experts believe that Pacquiao should forget about the lightweight title, keep the money, and look for the bigger fights, where he’s more comfortable with his weight, until he retires.

Or he can pay up and use the lightweight crown as a fallback just in case he doesn’t fare well against Dela Hoya or if he fails to land a fight against Hatton.

Bob Arum of Top Rank, in a call from New York City, told The STAR the other day that it’s really up to Pacquiao to decide if he’d pay the WBC $100,000 in sanction fee for the Dela Hoya fight.

While it’s a non-title fight, and no WBC crown is at stake, the prestigious boxing body under Jose Sulaiman is asking Pacquiao to cough it up in 15 days or he’d be stripped of the lightweight crown.

The WBC also said Pacquiao owes them $30,000 in unpaid sanction fees for either the Juan Manuel Marquez fight last March or the Diaz fight last June. Pacquiao’s men are working on the payment.

The $100,000 fee, however, is an entirely different issue, and Pacquiao wants to buy some time on this one by asking the WBC to keep their communication lines open.

“It’s really up to Manny whether he pays the $100,000 or not. If he’s going to defend his lightweight title (after the Dela Hoya fight) then he should pay. But if not, then he doesn’t have to pay,” Arum said.

“It’s his decision. But it’s ridiculous charging a fighter $100,000 for a non-title fight,” he added.