Alabel, Sarangani – Manny Pacquiao arrived here to a hero’s welcome Monday and said a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. might happen in May next year with him getting a guaranteed prize of $80 million.
Mayweather, on the other hand, will get $100 million.
How much each fighter will get from the pay-per-view proceeds has not been ascertained but if the bout happens, this is expected to be the richest fight in the history of boxing.
“Negotiation is now underway to finalize the fight between me and Mayweather hopefully to happen in May next year,” Pacquiao told a press conference here Monday after arriving from Macau on an AirAsia chartered flight after scoring a unanimous decision over American Chris Algieri on Sunday.
Pacquiao said the prize money, which in pesos would amount to roughly R3.5 billion in current exchange rate, is not important.
What he wants, he said is for the fight to be held so the boxing world will finally see the bout they have been waiting for.
Pacquiao’s trainer Mike Koncz, meanwhile, said on Monday that while talks are taking place to put together a super fight between the Filipino and the brash and unbeaten American fighter, he is quite unsure if it’s going to happen.
“Until I hear something from Floyd, I don’t hold high hopes,” said Koncz just before Team Pacquiao headed back to General Santos City on an AirAsia chartered flight.
Koncz knows that Mayweather holds a slight edge in the negotiations that is why they are amenable to compromise some aspects.
But it doesn’t mean Pacquiao is coming in cheap.
“I don’t wanna to throw numbers out because that’s going to hurt our negotiations. We are not expecting to take the lion’s share. Do we have to give a little bit to get the fight? We’ll do that,” he said.
Koncz said Pacquiao has gotten tired of being asked by questions not only from the media but by ordinary people just wherever they go.
“The main reason is that Manny is getting tired of everybody asking him.
Of course, fighting Mayweather will give him substantial money. But that’s not the driving force behind it. He’s an entertainer. He wants to entertain people. That’s why he wants to get that fight.”
reported by Nick Giongco and Joseph Jubelag
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