Who can head the Pacquiao commission?
There seems no stopping Manny Pacquiao from clashing with the unbeaten but unknown Jeff Horn of Australia, after all.
Horn (17-0) is the former schoolteacher who was junked by Pacquiao earlier, despite a fight having been originally scheduled by veteran promoter Bob Arum for April 22 in Brisbane.
Arum calmly watched and waited from the sidelines after Pacquiao announced he would instead take on Amir Khan in the United Arab Emirates. The proposed Pacquiao clash with Khan however fell through after it turned out the $38 Million purse quoted by top Pacquiao aide Michael Koncz was pure fantasy.
Now, Arum has stood up and given Pacquiao an ultimatum to say whether or not he would agree to fight Horn on July 2. Based on the response of Koncz, Pacquiao’s fight with Horn should be a go. Koncz said fight details will be finalized shortly.
The Pacquiao-Horn fight never had a smooth sailing. But a month after the fight was aborted, odds have suddenly shifted, with the jilted Australian promoters gaining the upper hand following the Arum ultimatum.
No smooth sailing indeed for the Pacquiao-Horn bout, which now looms a certainty.
Of course, this may not be the case for Pacquiao’s pet bill seeking to create a Philippine Boxing Commission.
As reported by Inquirer columnist Beth Celis, the Pacquiao bill should have a smooth sailing once it’s put to a vote in the Senate, where the only active boxing champion senator in the world is a member of the super majority.
The Pacquiao bill did encounter opposition on the Senate floor, mainly after former Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon expertly interpellated Pacquiao by driving on the point of duplicity.
Ms. Celis however reported that the Games on Amusements Board (GAB) has itself softened up in its opposition to the boxing commission bill.
Anyway, with the Pacquiao bill almost sure of being passed, there has risen the question on who would head the Philippine boxing commission. The post will be very vital and sensitive, going by the myriad problems besetting professional boxing in the country. Pacquiao has himself repeatedly attested to these problems
So who’s Sen. Pacquiao’s first choice to head of the Philippine Boxing Commission?
Said international matchmaker Jun Sarreal: “Gerry Peñalosa was a first choice, but he begged off. Ayaw niya, di raw kaya.”
Would Pacquiao offer to head the commission himself?
“Pacquiao was a guest of honor in the 17th Elorde awards at the Manila Hotel,” Sarreal continued. “For the first time, di siya dumating, he was a no-show.”
How come?
“Nag-basketball daw, after Eat Bulaga, nakatulog, he overslept, or whatever.”
