Manny Pacquiao Could Fight in Mexico or Middle East -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Over Bob Arum's nearly 44 years in boxing, the 78-year-old Harvard graduate has promoted 26 fights involving Muhammad Ali, helped to orchestrate the the comeback of George Foreman, handled every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's career, and substantial portions of those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

So when the Top Rank Promotions' CEO says that he could sell 31-year-old, seven-division Manny Pacquiao to fans virtually anywhere in the world, fans of the Pac-Man might want to start packing their bags.

"Until he was long-retired, Muhammad Ali was never the universally admired figure in this country and around the world like Manny Pacquiao, who is someone different," Arum has said of Pacquiao, who defended his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown in March before a record crowd at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium, and earned a congressional seat in his native Philippines in May.

"With Manny Pacquiao's cross-over appeal, he has become an international superstar. Anybody who is aware of Manny Pacqiao loves him, admires him, and there are no haters," said Arum. "There is no right or left when it comes to Manny Pacquiao. That's made him a more universally revered figure than Muhammad Ali."

So much so that Arum is considering Pacquiao's next fight -- likely on Nov. 13 -- for Monterrey, Mex., or an unidentified country in the Middle East against Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto if a mega bout with Mayweather does not materialize.

"I don't want to start naming the country until we're further along. But it's a Middle Eastern country, and it's not going to be in Dubai. We have a real, live offer from [the country] for them to take a fight with Pacquiao," Arum said "It's fair to say that the other place is Monterrey. That is other live offer on the table."

A winner of 12 straight fights, including eight by knockout, Pacquiao would sell in the Middle East, said Arum.

"There's a tremendous appeal for Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East. All of his fights are shown throughout the Middle East. And there's large numbers of Filipinos who work in the Middle East," said Arum. "All of his fights are shown all over in those countries. Manny's very, very popular and famous over there."

Arum and adviser Michael Koncz said that the 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 39 knockouts) has agreed in principle to put his crown on the line against the 33-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), whom he has given until mid-July -- or this coming weekend -- to sign the contract for their November bout.

Margarito still is not licensed to fight in America, this after his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following an illegal hand-wrapping scandal in January 2009.

On Friday, Margarito, whose suspension officially ended on Feb. 11, unsuccessfully applied for a license in Nevada, whose state athletic commission ruled that he must re-apply in California and have his case re-tried there before attempting to fight in Las Vegas.

Margarito has filed a lawsuit against the CSAC, whose move is being honored, nationwide, by most state athletic commissions, effectively banning Margarito from fighting in America.

Margarito is coming off of May's 10-round, unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in a junior middleweight clash that was fought in Mexico, which licensed him for the bout.

"We expect that, once the fight was definite with Pacquiao and Margarito -- if that's what we're going to do -- is we would go back to the Nevada to see if he can get a license," said Arum, "because all that they did was to table their decision."

Still, Koncz told FanHouse recently that Pacquiao would consider fighting Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs), the WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champ, or ex-world titlist Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) outside of the United States if a mega bout can't be made with Mayweather likely in Las Vegas.

"Miguel is interested in a rematch with Manny," Koncz said of Cotto, whom Pacquiao dethroned as WBO welterweight champ by 12th-round knockout in November.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com