by Nick Giongco
Manny Pacquiao's MP Promotions will take the starring role should the proposed June 24 fight in Malaysia between the Filipino pride and Argentine world welterweight king Lucas Matthysse gets the green light, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said yesterday.
Arum said his Top Rank Inc., which is in the fight game for over 50 years, will provide technical expertise to help MP Promotions stage the event in Kuala Lumpur as the 86-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer swears Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) “only supplies the fighter (Matthysse).”
GBP is owned by Oscar De La Hoya and Matthysse, the reigning World Boxing Association 147-lb titleholder, is under contract with the Los Angeles-based outfit.
Like Matthysse, the 39-year-old Pacquiao remains a property of Top Rank swears Arum, something Pacquiao’s camp insists is not the case.
Top Rank’s involvement will also spread to supplying the undercard fighters and the worldwide telecast of the event, said Arum.
Though Pacquiao had announced last week that the fight is a done deal, he later admitted that there are minor details being ironed out.
Still, Pacquiao is supremely confident that everything will fall into place soon so that the promotional phase gets underway with a press conference penciled for the first week of April in Manila. From Manila, Pacquiao will travel to Kuala Lumpur for another publicity appearance and an ocular inspection of a venue that can accommodate 15,000.
“Parang MGM (Grand), 15,000 ang (seating) capacity,” said Pacquiao, referring to the Las Vegas site that hosted many of his most important fights.