IF A congressman from Cagayan de Oro City will have his way, Manny Pacquiao won’t be fighting Oscar De La Hoya on Dec. 6.
For fear that Pacquiao will be hurt in his upcoming battle with the six-division world champion, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez asked the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) to temporarily revoke Pacquiao’s boxing license and to inform the Nevada Commision that GAB won’t give its blessing for the bout.
GAB chairman Eric Buhain defended the move of the congressman and believes he is just concerned with safety of the 29-year old Gen. Santos native, who will be entering a fight that is a clear mismatch.
“Congressman Rufus is only thinking of Manny’s safety that’s all. The GAB and the House of Representatives want Manny to be more cautious in this fight,” Buhain said in a report posted on GMANews.tv.
To soothe the worried fans of the World Boxing Council lightweight champion, GAB has asked Manny to keep them informed on his training for his upcoming war with De La Hoya.
Meanwhile, tickets for the Dec. 6 bout almost completely sold out a few hours after going on sale on Wednesday, guaranteeing the second-largest gate revenue in boxing history.
Only a handful of single seats were still available for the Dec. 6 fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, which seats about 16,000 fans for boxing.
The total gate revenue will be nearly $17 million, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said.
“This is just a reflection of the overwhelming interest in this mega-event,” Schaefer said. “The matchup is one of the best in boxing, and will be one of the biggest events the sport has ever seen.”
Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs), the Filipino star generally considered the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer, will move up from lightweight to welterweight to meet De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs), the sport’s most popular star in America and the bout’s co-promoter.
2 superstars
The fight already has generated more gate revenue than any bout except De La Hoya’s match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the same arena on May 5, 2007, which sold more than $18.4 million (euro12.5 million) in tickets with a few more seats and higher top-end prices.
The fight, nicknamed “The Dream Match” by its promoters, also will be shown live at several closed-circuit viewings throughout Las Vegas.
“When you have two superstars like Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya fighting each other, the public is going to respond,” said Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter. “No one wants to miss this one.” (EKA with AP)
