Golden Boy, not Top Rank, will be helping promote Manny Paquiao’s next fight in Kuala Lumpur.
The announcement was brief, firm, definite: “MP Promotions of Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Golden Boy Promotions of boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya will stage the Pacquiao-Matthysse WBA welterweight championship fight in Kuala Lumpur on June 24,” said Pacquiao press relations officer Aquiles Zonio.
A man most stunned was veteran promoter Bob Arum, who has been claiming he continues to be in good terms with Pacquiao.
Arum has been claiming there’s nothing final about the Pacquiao-Matthysse fight.
“That’s not true,” he told BoxingScene. “They’re hoping to do a deal in Malaysia, I haven’t been handling that deal. Hopefully the money turns up.”
The Pacquiao camp, meanwhile, announced a launch has been scheduled in Kuala Lumpur on March 22, with De la Hoya and Matthysse expected to be in attendance.
A media tour will follow in in major cities like Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau.
That means Arum will be out of the picture, at least in the Kuala Lumpur event.
But Arum has refused to give up.
He explained: “Golden Boy has been told that it would be a provision of service agreement for Matthysse to fight Pacquiao. They would just be providing the fighter.”
This gives rise to a question on whether Pacquiao is still officially under contract with Arum’s Top Rank.
Arum said that in the event the June 24 championship in Kuala Lumpur materializes, he would remain a key participant.
“Manny wants to be promoter in Malaysia,” Arum said. “We would handle the logistics there for them and we would handle worldwide television.”
Sen. Pacquiao, who said he would be the underdog against Matthysse, has stood up to call the shots.
His bosom friend Buboy Fernandez has been promoted to full-time trainer.
Nothing has been heard of Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
Shouldn’t Arum first get Pacquiao’s nod in order to be back in the picture?