A planned May 2 showdown between Britain’s Ricky Hatton and Phillipines star Manny Pacquiao has been called off after the two fighters’ camps could not agree on how to split the purse.
Richard Schaefer, chief executive for Hatton backers Golden Boy Promotions, told ESPN and the Los Angeles Times that the bout was called off by Hatton after Pacquiao would not sign a deal by a Wednesday deadline.
”The fight is off,” Schaefer told ESPN. ”We’re pursuing our other options. That’s it. The Hattons called me and asked again if we had a signed deal from Pacquiao and when I said we didn’t, they said they won’t sit around anymore.”
Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said the Filipino hero wanted more money and a bigger split of the profits from the 50-50 deal, for what would have been a Las Vegas spectacle and one of the fights of the year.
”Manny decided not to sign. He was unhappy with the terms,” Arum told ESPN. ”The fight is off. The suits can posture but it’s the fighters who have to go in the ring and fight. But I am not thrilled right now.”
Pacquiao adviser Rex Salud told Manila newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer that there would be no Hatton fight ”unless the numbers move to his [Pacquiao’s] favour.”
The daily said Pacquiao wanted 60% of fight and pay-per-view purses, while the Hatton camp insists there had been a verbal agreement on an equal split.
The fighters were set to tour from next week to promote the fight. Now Hatton is scrambling to find another opponent to face on May 2.
Hatton, 45-1 with 32 knockouts, hopes to fight Oscar de la Hoya, the winner of next month’s fight between Juan Diaz and Juan Manuel Marquez, or retired star Floyd Mayweather. Such a bout might even be staged at London’s Wembley Stadium.
A Mayweather-Hatton fight would be a rematch of the 2007 bout in which Mayweather stopped the Englishman in the 10th round at Las Vegas. Mayweather has not fought in the 13 months since and declared himself retired.
Pacquiao, 48-3 with two drawn and 36 knockouts, could still step in and save the fight by agreeing to the deal before another rival was signed, but that wasn’t seen as a likely possibility given him missing the deadline.
Arum said Pacquiao’s next possible foes include Humberto Soto, but the payday would be far less than the $10-million to $12-million he would have been assured out of a 50-50 split with Hatton. — AFP
