Manny Pacquiao reportedly has signed a deal to fight Ricky Hatton after all, ending a week of rancor that included a scathing news release Pacquiao issued barely 12 hours before agreeing to a deal.
Promoter Bob Arum told writer Michael Marley (who used to work for Don King and knows this business better than I) that Pacquiao is accepting the 52-48 split he had rejected two days earlier, and that the signed contract would reach Arum in Las Vegas on Friday.
Hatton’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions and Arum’s Top Rank seemingly had agreed to a 50/50 purse split for the proposed May 2 junior welterweight title bout with Hatton, but they either did so without Pacquiao’s approval, or else Pacquiao changed his mind. Either way, Pacquiao sent word through his attorneys demanding a 60/40 split, after which he rejected a 52/48 compromise. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer ultimately set a Wednesday deadline for Pacquiao’s approval of the proceedings, which passed with the contract unsigned.
Pacquiao, who had been inaccessible to Arum and to trainer Freddie Roach during the dispute, released the scathing statement Thursday from the Philippines through his Los Angeles-based spokesman Winchell Campos. It blamed “undue pressure” from Richard Schaefer, for engendering his hostility to the negotiations. Much of the bad blood stems from the 32/68 split Pacquiao and Arum accepted from Schaefer and Golden Boy for the Dec. 6 bout with Oscar De La Hoya, which Pacquiao won unexpectedly one-sidedly.
So Pacquiao, having settled for the short end, deserved respect this time, and he finally got it, although it seems to me he got it in time for Wednesday’s deadline.
By waiting until Friday to come around, Pacquiao needlessly spread a lot of hostility in the bargain.
Source: examiner.com
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