Pacquiao may train in Canada

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is luring Manny Pacquiao to the Bahamas for the first half of his training camp for the November 14 duel with Miguel Cotto but the Filipino fighter might end up going to Canada, Mexico — or even the Philippines.
Owing to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulation called the Substantial Presence Test, defined as a calculation that determines the resident or nonresident status of a foreign national for tax purposes in the US, Arum said Pacquiao has to spend the first four weeks of training outside US territory and the Bahamas, which is 45 minutes by air from Florida, turned out to be perfect choice.
“Manny’s going to love it there,” Arum said on Wednesday, stressing that a high-ranking executive of the high-end Atlantis Resort in the capital city of Nassau, is more than willing to host Pacquiao and his training team.
“The weather is similar to that of the Philippines and everything there will be first-class,” said Arum, who turned a bit annoyed when told about the possibility of Pacquiao opting to stay in the Philippines.
Arum said he can also train in Mexico but the language barrier might turn Pacquiao off.
“Manny has to be near the US because we will maximize the pay-per-view,” said Arum, noting that “it will all be up to Manny” to decide where to train.
Even chief trainer Freddie Roach is not leaning towards a training camp in the country “because of too many distractions.”
Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal said Vancouver in Canada appears to be a good choice, not only because it is also near the US but because of the large number of Filipinos residing there as well.
Roach wants an eight-week training camp for the Cotto fight and regardless of where Pacquiao spends the first four weeks, they would resume training at the Wild Card in Hollywood a month before the bout.
share on: facebook

A case of one world crown too many?

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL FILIPINO boxing fans, regardless of age and creed, to come to the aid of promoter cum laude Bob Arum.
Let's all join hands and save Arum from himself.
While there's still time, let's march to have Manny Pacquiao's forthcoming bout with Miguel Cotto officially declared a world welterweight championship.
"Nobody in the US cares about it," Arum was quoted as stating against the importance of a Pacquiao-Cotto world title bout.
Either Mr. Marley was on his third margarita or driving home, but the stunning quote must've tasted like a spoiled lemon in his drink.
It was an atrocity that should be stricken out of a future Arum bio.
"He's already over 70," said WBO president Paco Valcarcel, "and Mr. Arum sometimes says things he [doesn't] mean."
OK, the rest of that original column that barked against Arum's insensitivity had to be junked.
Instead, here's an assurance from Mr. Marley, who yesterday wrote on boxingconfidential.com that "Arum has folded like a $5 umbrella."
Arum has vowed to make sure the Pacquiao-Cotto fight at 145 pounds will be for the WBO welterweight crown, Mr. Marley wrote.
The indignation was inevitable.
Not only was Arum in the strongest and best position to process the staging of the world title bout.
As Pacquiao's promoter, he should've been in the lead pack to see to it that the RP superhero achieves what has never been done in world boxing before.
After taking away crowns from Sasakul (flyweight), Ledwabah (super bantamweight), Barrera (featherweight), Marquez (junior lightweight), Diaz (lightweight), Hatton (junior welterweight), Pacquiao is strongly favored to also wrest Cotto's welter crown, which should count as the Pacman's seventh title in seven weight divisions.
Well, as for Michael Marley, he must've overshot his tequila quota musing on what had caused Arum to lose grip.
It was not the Arum who, as one pundit put it, always had a sparkling quote to turn the dullest prospects into a best seller.
OK, maybe it was a case of one crown too many.
Not many boxing fans here in Manila have realized it, but the Marley call to action generated a total of 17, 489 enrollees in less than three days (at mlcmarley@aol.com).
He does not say it, but it goes without saying Sir Michael agreed to turn activist in order to prevent dear Uncle Bob, 77, from being totally unfair to himself.
share on: facebook

Cotto wants fight with Pacquiao at 147lbs

Miguel Cotto is willing to stake his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Manny Pacquiao.
With one major condition of course, that the fight has to be at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.

“If Pacquiao wants a title for the fight, it will have to be at 147," Cotto declared from his hometown in Puerto Rico.

His offer is the latest plot twist in his scheduled November 14 showdown against the reigning pound-for-pound king and the six-division title holder Pacquiao.

The 12-round Pacquiao-Cotto match, which will be held in Las Vegas, is considered by many as the biggest bout in the final half of 2009.

Originally set at a catch weight of 145 pounds, Cotto was forced to set his own condition this time after Pacquiao insisted that the Puerto Rican’s WBO crown be put on the table.

Pacquiao’s suggestion was even backed by no less than WBO president Francisco Valcarcel, who was more than willing to sanction the match.

But Cotto, in an interview with Puerto Rican newspaper Primerahora, stressed the catch weight of 145 pounds doesn’t fall under any category in boxing. “The weight of 145 pounds is not a category."

He said since he won the title at 147 pounds, then Pacquiao should agree going up in weight if he wants the WBO title at stake.

Cotto acknowledged, however, that as the sanctioning boxing body, the WBO can strip him of his title if he refused to defend it.

“The WBO has the legal authority to dismiss me as champion. I have no problem with that," said the world champion, who is busy promoting his new line of clothing in Puerto Rico.

This developed as Cotto revealed he’s planning to go back to the gym next week and start to do some light work out. – GMANews.TV

share on: facebook

Pacquiao’s camp blames Arum for ‘no-title’ fiasco

The insistence of Miguel Cotto not to put his world title at stake when he fights Manny Pacquiao is being blamed on Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal said on Friday that Arum's hasty decision to come out with an announcement about the Pacquiao-Cotto fight scheduled Nov. 14 in Las Vegas early last week could be one of the reasons behind the insistence of Cotto to stand firm on his decision not to stake the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown.

"I don't know why Bob made the announcement when in fact we haven't seen the (official) contract," said Gacal when asked about the other pertinent details of the contract.

Arum has both Pacquiao and Cotto under the promotional banner of Top Rank.

Cotto's decision not to risk the WBO 147-lb crown stems from the fact that the fight is going to be at a catch weight of 145 lbs and that during the negotiations, Team Pacquiao did not bother to raise the issue.

Cotto said he will only risk the WBO title if Pacquiao agrees to face him at 147 lbs.

"(My decision is) final and firm," Cotto told El Nuevo Dia in a story that appeared on the paper's July 31 issue. "The belt is not going to be on the line in the fight."

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, already panicky about the prospects of bringing Pacquiao somewhere else other than the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, was bothered when told about the development.

"The WBO should make it a title fight. We don’t need the fight if the title is not on the line," Roach told The Bulletin. "I want Manny to do this for a reason. I want Manny to win seven world titles. Titles are overrated but I would like to see Manny do this."

There's been no seven-division world champion in boxing and Roach is dead-sure Pacquiao will become the very first when he faces Cotto.

Pacquiao has won legitimate world titles at flyweight (112 lbs), super-bantam (122), super-feather (130) and lightweight (135), but was widely recognized as well when he beat Marco Antonio Barrera for the Ring magazine featherweight (126) crown and Ricky Hatton last May even if the Englishman, considered as the best in the division, held the fringe International Boxing Organization junior-welter (140) diadem.

share on: facebook

Miguel Cotto's deal: No golf, Oscars, lobsters, Pacquaio rematch

Miguel “I’m No Angel” Cotto has a new promotional contract with his Uncle Bob Arum, formerly known as the Parsimonious Promoter until he flip flopped and decided to pay WBO sanction fees for Cotto and Manny Pacquiao,

Arum has done more gymnastics lately than Mary Lou Retton, contorting himself on the Nov. 14 title bout issue.

But the promoter overcame his reach impediment and his alligator arms and will go into his own pocket to pay the WBO fees.

I’ve learned exclusively (no one else cares, right Bob?) that there are some neat wrinkles in Cotto’s new deal including:

1. NO GOLF CLAUSE. As fallout from his totally coincidental golf round with rival Oscar de la Hoya, Cotto is not permitted to play golf, watch golf or to even eat a sand wedge at a golf course. This ban extends to miniature golf and to hitting the plastic balls into the clown’s mouth. Cotto cannot even mention the names of Tiger Woods or Ernie Els.

2. NO MALIGNING THE CRIMINAL HABITS OF ANTONIO MARGOCHEATO. While Harper Valley Hypocrite Arum demands a lifetime boxing ban for caught cheating trainer Panama Lewis, he seeks justice tempered with mercy for his Mexican clinet and Cotto victor, Antonio Margarito. Under his new TR deal,
Cotto can only say kind and wonderful things about the Plaster of Paris handwraps cheater. One suggestion was this, “Margarito has done more for the great Mexican people than Pancho Villa ever did.”


3. HANDWRAPPING IN WELL LIT ROOMS ONLY. Since Arum will throw Cotto in, after Pacquiao is done with him, into a revenge rematch against Tone Loc, it is specified that Antonio cannot come to the arena after having his cement handwraps put in place in a dark alley next to the Chicago Club in Tijuana. His wraps must be put on in a totally floodlit room with 10 SWAT cops and their Uzis carefully trained a few feet away from the surely nervous hand wrapper. This special place will be called “The Honesty Room” but has no connection to the CD of the same name by great singer Dar Williams. (Attention: Lucinda “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road“ Williams, I love you just as much as I do Dar!)

4. OSCAR BAN EXTENDS TO TELEVISION. Cotto promises in the contract that he will never use the expression “but Oscar says” in conversation, especially in media interviews. This ban on anything related to Oscar extends to the Academy Awards which Cotto promises not to attend or to even watch on TV. Cotto can only make reference to the movie honors by calling the famed awards “those little statuettes.”

5. OSCAR BAN EXTENDS TO EATING. I can now "re veal" that Cotto is not permitted to order Veal Oscar from any menu.

6. NO REMATCH CLAUSE WITH PACMAN. Even though he will put up a fearsome fight, Cotto knows Arum is using him for Pacman cannon fodder and thus has insisted on a No Rematch clause. There was no mention of any other claws, including those from lobsters or stone crabs. In the same vein, Cotto is prohibited from ever referring to the smaller Pacquiao as “that little shrimp from GenSan.”

Arum is investing heavily in shrimp distribution companies in Packy’s hometown although the highly religious promoter will steer clear of crustaceans as he considers them “treyf” meaning trash and cockroaches of the sea. “Lobsters are not kosher, they are losers,” Arum said. “I can’t sanction or stomach lobsters. I thought they were born red but it turns out they only get that way after a killer steam bath. Same thing happen to me. At my age, my skin has more wrinkles than Kim Kardashian’s backside. I’m so glad Reggie Bush finally dumped her! Now Matt Stolow, Dallas bachelor of the moment, has a real shot at being her next beau and I don’t mean Bo Belinsky.”



share on: facebook