MANILA, Philippines—Negotiations for the May 2 showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton took a huge step closer to completion Tuesday after the British slugger agreed to stage the light-welterweight duel in Las Vegas.

Hatton promoter Richard Schaefer said the British “Hitman” was finally convinced that the Las Vegas, not the 90,000-seater Wembley Arena in Britain, would be the best site to stage the much-anticipated bout.

“Ricky’s preference was the United Kingdom, but he realized that was not the best place for this fight, just like the Philippines wasn’t,” Schaefer told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times.

“This is right in the middle.”

Schaefer, an executive of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, said both parties have verbally agreed to all key points in the fight contract that is expected to be signed “within next week.”

Pacquiao “is on board” with the terms as well, Schaefer said.

The fight executive said he and Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, are to meet in Las Vegas with potential sponsors, Planet Hollywood executive Robert Earl and MGM-Mirage entertainment and sports chief Richard Sturm.

The meetings will determine whether the fight can be held at the Thomas and Mack Center of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and sponsored by Planet Hollywood, or at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The fight will be Pacquiao’s first after scoring an eighth-round technical knockout win over De La Hoya in a welterweight bout on December last year.

It will also be the Gen. Santos City southpaw’s maiden fight in the 140 lb category and fourth straight in a different weight class.

Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez by split decision last year for the WBC super featherweight title, before dethroning WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in a ninth-round stoppage.

Hatton is coming off an 11th-round stoppage of American Paul Malignaggi in November last year.

Against Pacquiao, Schaefer is confident that Hatton, the IBO light welterweight king, will be a better fighter than when he battled welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr. and lost by knockout in November 2007.

“Being at 147 was clearly not Hatton’s best weight,” Schaefer said. “Ricky is unbeaten at 140.”