28.12.06 – Ricardo Lois, BoxingConfidential.com: Manny picks Bob Arum and scorns Oscar De La Hoya in a Manila press conference. So what? My mother loves watching those over-acted, cheese ball Spanish language soap operas. Little did I know I would be covering one with Manny Pacquiao being the star. Nothing, and I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G has been resolved by Pacquiao’s public announcement that he will stick by Top Rank..
The court battles will continue between Arum’s Top Rank and De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and boxing will not see its biggest star until mid-2007. I wonder is Arum agreed to foot all the legal bills for Manny. Maybe Arum, an attorney himself, will rule over Manny’s cases.
In the same press conference, the Filipino sensation announced that he wants a rematch with Marco A. Barrera when he does return in April. A bout with Barrera will be difficult to make, due to the promotional war between Arum and De La Hoya, but regardless of who Arum puts in front of Pacquiao, Steve Wynn’s treasure chest will make it a financial success for Manny. As for boxing fans, if Barrera is out of the Filipino’s mix, Pacquiao vs. Humberto Soto does not have the same luster as Pacquiao vs. Barrera, Joan Guzman, or Juan Manuel Marquez (all members of the Golden Boy family).
Now, Golden Boy who has been leaking reports of moving on with Barrera v. Marquez in March as leverage, and I do mean leverage, as Ignacio Beristain Marquez’s manager has informed me on several occasions that nobody has informed him of this bout, will have to move on with their all-Mexican St. Patrick’s Day battle. For what it is worth, I see that one a boring duel between two cautious in the ring technicians. I also predict the pay-per-view numbers will be weak.
The sanctioning bodies still have a role to play in this on-going drama. On all the court cases are settled, Manny Pacquiao is the number one contender to both Barrera’s W.B.C. Championship and Guzman’s W.B.O. Championship. The respective organizations could push a purse bid for these bouts to happen, opening up any promoter with a sizeable war chest into a bidding war to be part of Manny’s promotional team for those bouts. My sources close to Don King still claim that he would make a push to win any purse bid involving Manny Pacquiao, even though King publicly denied these reports. Nobody said promoters were honest.
Where does this all leave Shelly Finkel? Finkel’s managerial contract expires on January 31, 2007. Manny made no comment on Finkel’s future during his press conference. With all the leeches and third world hanger-ons that Manny attracts, he would be smart to keep Finkel close at hand; Shelly is arguably the best manager in boxing today and if Pacquiao used his services properly, he would have avoided all the confusion and future litigation he will face now that he has selected Arum over De La Hoya.
Freddie Roach gets to stay around, as announced by Pacquiao and our Executive Editor at Boxing Confidential, Michael Marley. Smart move by Manny to keep someone who obviously cares about him close at hand. Say what you want about Freddie, he really seems to protect and care about the Pacman.
So this episode is over, but more are yet to come in As the Pacman Turns.