Arum looking past Floyd for Pacquiao foe -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

There is life after Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Sensing that Mayweather will decide to sit it out the rest of the year, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is looking at the possibilities of bringing Manny Pacquiao either to an undisclosed Middle Eastern country or to Monterrey, Mexico, for a fight on November 13.

Arum told several media outlets on Monday that if Mayweather doesn’t give in to his ultimatum by this week, he will have no other choice but look elsewhere.

Arum declined to name the Arab country reportedly drooling to host a Pacquiao fight although he had ruled out the United Arab Emirates.

Being looked at as possible Pacquiao foes are Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto and Mexican Antonio Margarito.

Two weeks ago, Arum said everything’s been agreed to and that only the signature of Mayweather is lacking for him to make the formal announcement to the media and the public.

“The question is whether Mayweather will fight this year or next year,” said Arum.

Arum made it clear, though, that in the event Mayweather opts to take the year off, the offer to fight Pacquiao still stands.

A showdown in May 2011 between the leading welterweights and pound-for-pound kings has already been proposed.

Arum’s decision to dangle two alternatives is being seen as a ploy for Mayweather to issue an announcement.

Mayweather has been reluctant to react on Arum’s deadline the past three weeks.

Source: mb.com.ph

Manny Pacquiao transcending boxing like Muhammad Ali says Bob Arum -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegraph.co.uk

Promoter Bob Arum believes that since Manny Pacquiao was elected as Congressman to Sarangani Province on May 10, the world champion boxer “can transform the Filipino nation, rid the country of corruption and be seen as a true leader.”

“We all know this century is going to be Asia’s century, with China, India and Malaysia on the rise, and they can go with that wave. This is an adventure far more important than landing with left and right hands in a ring,” promoter Arum told The Telegraph.

“I’m at an age that I probably won’t see this come to fruition, but I hope I do. I really see this kid who lived on the streets, who didn’t even graduate from high school, and whose learning came recently, becoming the instrument of change in his country.”

Arum told me he felt mesmerised by Pacquiao when he visited him during his election campaign. “I found out things there I couldn’t even believe, saw Manny speaking in different dialects, and although I could not understand what he was saying in his rallies, I could tell from the cadence just how he whipped up the crowd and that he is a fantastic orator. Not just good – fantastic.”

“In another era he could have been a leader. Had he come earlier he would have probably been the resistance leader against invading nations. People don’t really see that in the US in his boxing career because he’s not really confident speaking English.”

Surely it will be a shock to the system, fighting and learning to work in Congress ? “Sure. It occured to me that how will be be able to find the time, but a fighter has tremendous downtime. Manny fights twice a year, trains for a couple of months, and in between times he can study the legislation.”

“That would be much more productive and much more therapeutic… I was in the Philippines – I’m not allowed to speak at rallies as a foreigner, but he was talking to me about his boxing career and he said that as long as he could he would fight on in the ring. It would bring more notoriety to him in the province. It is going to cost millions of dollars, and not only can his purses help but he can use his boxing as a pulpit to raise substantial funds to the province…”

“He is up there with Muhammad Ali. Here was Ali, a brilliant talent considered by so many to be a blowhard. People would not listen to him in the beginning about all the historic influence on race relations on progress made in this country, but look how he changed peoples’ views on the Vietnam War. Without Ali there would not be a President Obama. Ali, in his way, had resonated far, far beyond his exploits in the ring. That is what Manny is about to achieve.”

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

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

Wants next fight in RP: 'Hurricane' blows into town -- Philippine Star

By Joey Villar, The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton, the Fil-Am slugger who has fired up the women’s boxing scene with her exploits, wants her next fight held before local fans.

“I’m looking forward to having a fight here in the Philippines, I want to be the first Filipina to do it here, it’s a very hard task but a very exciting one,” said Julaton, who arrived early yesterday for his first ever visit in RP during a press conference hosted by television giant GMA 7 at its main building in Quezon City.

Julaton, a native of California whose middle name is Bonifacio, was coming off a split decision victory over Mexican challenger Maria Elena Villalobos to seize the vacant World Boxing Organization female super-bantamweight crown in Ontario, Canada Wednesday.

It was a much-needed win for Julaton, who also currently holds the International Boxing Federation crown, after losing to Lisa Brown via unanimous decision in their fight last March shown on GMA Network and GMA Pinoy TV.

She now has a 7-2-2 (win-loss-draw) record.

And like Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao, Julaton, who celebrated her 20th birthday last July 5, should progress under the guidance of world-class champion trainer Freddie Roach.

“I believe he’s an excellent communicator, one of the biggest things he wanted in me in the last fight was to show a lot of confidence,” said Julaton of Roach.

“He also told me that it doesn’t matter who is in your corner, it’s what you do in the ring that matters and all of it is psychological,” she added.

Julaton also thanked GMA 7 and local fans for their support.

“We’re proud of her,” said GMA 7 CEO Atty. Felipe Gozon.

“Maraming Salamat po (Thank you very much) for giving me this opportunity,” said Julaton.

“Despite being able to acquire these titles, it’s a lot of pride for me to show the world what is it to be a Filipina, strong, resilient and we have a place in this world.

Source: philstar.com