Ni Gilbert Espeña
TINIYAK ni Top Rank big boss at Hall of Famer promoter Bob Arum na isasabay niya ang laban ni eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao sa pay-per-view (PPV) bout nina WBO welterweight titlist Jeff Horn ng Australia at Amerikanong mandatory challenger Terence Crawford sa Abril 21 sa T-Mobile Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sa panayam ng Las Vegas Review Journal, sinabi ni Arum na puwede ring gawin ang pagsagupa ni Pacquiao sa hindi pa tinukoy na kalaban sa Abril 14 sa pamosong Madison Square Garden sa New York at tiniyak niyang
ipalalabas ito sa ESPN PPV.
Nilinaw din ni Arum na hindi isang undercard fighter si Pacquiao kaya ito ang magiging main event at hindi ang Horn-Crawford bout.
“Pacquiao don’t fight on undercards. The ESPN guys know how to market and present events and they know how this will be handled,” sabi ni Arum. “It won’t be an undercard. It will be something very unique and when we do it, it will be appealing to everybody involved.
”[Crawford-Horn] is virtually done. It’s not signed yet, but we hope it will be in the next week,” dagdag ni Arum na nakatakdang dumating sa bansa para kausapin ang Pinoy boxer.
“[Pacquiao wants] a decent fight so he can demonstrate that he still has the ability to fight at the top level, and then we can do a big fight for him at the end of the year,” diin ni Arum. “I may have to get on a plane and go to the Philippines. Maybe this weekend.”
Inamin din ng promoter sa BoxingScene.com na may negosasyon para sa laban ni Pacquiao kay WBO junior lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko ng Ukrainer ngunit hindi pa nagkakasundo sa catch weight.
“There had been discussions to fight Lomachenko but the father of Lomachenko didn’t want him to jump two weight classes. Lomachenko will fight first at lightweight and then what we’re trying to do is have Manny fight a keep-busy fight and then fight Lomachenko in the fall,” ani Arum. “But the father said to jump from 130 to 140 was a bridge too far.”
