Pacquiao’s showing key to Floyd Jr. fight
MACAU—There’s a lot more at stake in Manny Pacquiao’s bout against Chris Algieri on Sunday at Cotai Arena of The Venetian Macao here.
A potential billion-dollar megafight with undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., for starters.
A dominant win, especially if it comes by stoppage, will surely tick off Mayweather even more and force the unbeaten world champion to finally agree to make the rich fight happen.
“I am more optimistic that (Pacquiao-Mayweather) will happen than in the last three years,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Tuesday.
“Networks are talking and responsible people are actively moving,” said the 82-year-old Arum. “I’m talking to responsible people, who are talking to responsible Mayweather people.
“There’s a ray of sunshine that it would be possible,” said Arum, who is setting the first half of 2015 as target date for the eagerly awaited fight.
“That’s why both sides won’t set a fight within that period.”
Arum, however, doesn’t want to look past the Algieri fight.
“It’s not an easy fight,” Arum said. “Algieri’s in great shape, it’s going to be a tough fight.”
Because of Algieri’s advantage in height (four inches) and reach (five inches), Arum said Pacquiao needs to figure out how to get inside.
The promoter added that Algieri is different from Antonio Margarito, who was battered by Pacquiao in their 12-round fight for the World Boxing Council light middleweight title in 2010.
Though aware that efforts are being exerted to forge a fight with Mayweather, Pacquiao said he’s willing to fight anybody.
“As long as I’m still in boxing and Mayweather is still in boxing, then there’s always a chance for that (fight),” said Pacquiao.
Arum expects Pacquiao-Algieri to be more successful, revenue wise, than Pacquiao-Bandon Rios here last year.
Pacquiao-Rios had 450,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys, and Arum is hoping to double that mark as the international media have shown renewed interest in the Filipino superstar’s duel with the American, a former kickboxer.
Among the celebrities already in town to watch the Pacquiao-Algieri fight are Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Martinez.
