Manny Pacquiao.
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao may never set foot in the inside a ring in the United States again.
Top Rank honcho Bob Arum revealed that possibility in an interview with Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times as Pacquiao is set to fight Brandon Rios on November 23 in Macau, China.
The biggest stumbling block is the hefty tax impositions in the United States.
“By fighting outside the country, as he’s doing in this Rios fight, Manny doesn’t have to pay US taxes anymore – at a rate of 40 percent for a foreign athlete,” said Arum in the interview.
In China, Arum managed to strike a deal which would allow Chinese consumers to view the Pacquiao-Rios bout on their smartphones, also according to the report.
“We could do as many as $10 million to $20 million in sales with this. It changes everything. Will it work? We’ll see in November,” said Arum.
And if it does, it opens more doors for Pacquiao outside the US, where he has been fighting for most of his career.
“If this pay-per-view and other things take off like we think they may, I can’t imagine Pacquiao will ever again fight in the US,” Arum said.