Pacquiao agrees to 2010 showdown with Floyd

The 2010 showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. would likely take place next year.

This was confirmed by the seven-division king himself when interviewed by 24 Oras after meeting with Top Rank big boss Bob Arum Friday night.

Pacquiao said that he will leave it to Arum in ironing out the terms of his scheduled 12-round slugfest slated on March 13.

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Pacquiao-Floyd megabout almost done

Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao may yet tangle with comebacking superstar Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in his next gig, most likely on March 13, an internet site reported Wednesday.

According to Yahoo! Sports, negotiations have gained ground and Mayweather’s camp has already given the thumbs up on the proposed terms. As such, it said it’s now up to Pacquiao to seal the the highly-awaited fight.

Talks for Pacquiao-Mayweather fight on

Formal negotiations for a possible mega showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. by next year are now being slowly laid down.

In a report by ESPN.com, Top Rank Promotions big boss Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer are set to meet over lunch Monday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in what serves as the preliminary talk for the fight the whole world is waiting for.

Pacquiao: My world record is hard to beat

MANILA – “People’s Champ” Manny Pacquiao humbly stated that his record of winning seven world titles in seven different weight classes would be hard to equal much less to surpass.

“Masayang-masaya ako dahil nakuha na natin ang isang record na sa tingin ko ay mahirap nang pantayan ulit sa larangan ng sport na ito,” he wrote in his Nov. 22 “Kumbinasyon” column posted on PhilBoxing.com.

Before Pacquiao achieved the new world boxing record by defeating Miguel Cotto via technical knockout in Round 12, the Filipino boxing icon was tied with retired Oscar de la Hoya as six-division world champions.

Now, he stands as the only seven-division champion in the world. “Sa wakas, nakamit na rin natin ang isa sa pinakamatayog na record sa boxing,” the pound-for-pound king remarked.

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title, which he claimed from Cotto over a week ago, is the latest addition to his other titles: flyweight (World Boxing Council), super bantamweight (WBC and International Boxing Federation), featherweight (World Boxing Association, IBF and Ring Magazine), super featherweight (WBC and Ring), lightweight (WBC), and junior welterweight (International Boxing Organization and Ring).

Pacquiao earns P1B from Cotto fight

MANILA – Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao will end up making $22 million or P1.03 billion for his 12th-round demolition of Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto last week.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum gave the new figure to ESPN.com after cable giant Home Box Office (HBO) said that the Pacquiao-Cotto “Firepower” generated 1.25 million pay-per-view (PPV) buys for a total worth of $70 million.

Despite losing his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown to Pacquiao, Cotto is estimated to receive $12 million for the fight.

The Firepower match was the third straight “blockbuster pay-per-view fight” for Pacquiao, who also scored 1.25 million PPV buys for his 8th-round beating of Oscar de la Hoya in December 2008, and 830,000 buys for his 2nd-round knockout of Ricky Hatton in May.

The Pacquiao-Cotto fight also generated a live gate of $8,847,550 from an official crowd of 15,930, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Early fight odds favor Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines – The betting lines are open for Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Manny Pacquiao even before negotiations for the richest fight in history.

Bob Arum of Top Rank, representing Pacquiao, and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, who has helped seal Mayweather’s previous fights, are just about to begin talks for the fight the whole world wants to see.

Pacquiao’s riches to grow after historic win: analysts

MANILA – Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao stands to earn tens of millions of dollars in endorsements as firms at home and abroad rush to link themselves with the charismatic champion, observers say.

The nation celebrated on Sunday when Pacquiao, 30, took the World Boxing Organization welterweight title by stopping Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, becoming the first fighter to win seven world titles in seven weight classes.

“For sure, he is going to get more offers for commercial endorsements. It will also raise his talent fee a lot,” said Yoly Ong, president of Campaigns and Grey, a major advertising firm in the Philippines.

Pacquiao, who only began boxing to help raise money for his destitute family, had already become fabulously wealthy before the Cotto bout.

He was recently listed by Forbes magazine as the world’s sixth highest paid athlete, earning $40 million in the 12 months from June last year — more than tennis star Roger Federer.

Pacquiao to Mayweather: I’m game for a fight

While clamor for a possible megabuck showdown rages on, American superstar Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. has publicly challenged Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao to categorically state he wants to fight him.

On Monday right before his concert in Los Angeles (Tuesday in Manila), the seven-division world champion from General Santos City took up Mayweather’s dare for a callout.

Asked point-blank by Cher Calvin of KTLA TV station, Pacquiao declared: “For the record, yes (I want to fight Mayweather).”

Pacquiao-Mayweather has become every boxing fan’s dream matchup after the two pound-for-pound icons disposed of their respective foes. The unbeaten Mayweather came back from a year of “retirement” to dominate an undersized Juan Manuel Marquez in their welterweight clash last September while Pacquiao, his successor as P4P king, demolished Miguel Cotto in 12 rounds over the weekend to win a record world title in a seventh weight class.

So hot was the superfight (expected to generate record PPV numbers) that Las Vegas casinos have already started taking bets on which fighter will prevail.

Pacquiao-Mayweather match must be made

LAS VEGAS – Just minutes after Manny Pacquiao had violently turned Miguel Cotto’s face into raw hamburger, the chant rose up from the stands of the MGM Grand Garden Arena:

“We want Floyd.”

Pacquiao had delivered a systematic demolition job of Cotto, winning the World Boxing Organization welterweight title via 12th round TKO with round after round of devastating shots against a bigger, stronger man.

It was the second electrifying boxing performance of the fall. The first was Floyd Mayweather Jr’s 12-round decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in September. That fight broke the rare 1 million pay-per-view bar, a number that will likely be exceeded by this fight too.

So now the stage is set for a super fight that could set box office records – Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. It’s the dream bout between the two best pound-for-pound champions in the sport, hopefully sometime in 2010.

“If Floyd Mayweather wants to fight Manny Pacquiao he knows who to call,” said Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank Boxing, the promotion which handles Pacquiao.

Clamor for Pacquiao-Mayweather duel rages on

Las Vegas – As Manny Pacquiao was basking in the glory of his remarkable win over Miguel Cotto Saturday Night (Sunday in Manila), the capacity crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena chanted, with all clarity, the name of the fighter it wanted the pound-for-pound king to face next. “We want Floyd! We want Floyd!” were the words that reverberated throughout the packed stadium.

Floyd of coursem is “Money” Mayweather, Jr. the unbeaten, former five-time world champion, whom Pacquiao supplanted as the world’s P4P king upon his retirement in 2008. He has since un-retired and fought Juan Manuel Marquez two months ago in a bout Mayweather thoroughly dominated.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has been vocal from the very beginning that he wants a piece of the 32-year-old American.

“I think that’s the fight the whole world wants to see. I want Mayweather. I want Manny to kick his ass,” said the three-time Trainer of the Year.

The split in the prize purse, though, is what’s preventing what many projects as the biggest boxing fight from ever happening.