Ibinunyag ni Top Rank CEO Bob Arum na nagkaroon na umano ng mga pag-uusap tungkol sa nilulutong boxing showdown sa pagitan nina Sen. Manny Pacquiao at Terence Crawford.
Ayon kay Arum, kapwa interesado sina Pacquiao at Crawford na magtuos sa isang unification bout na posibleng isagawa sa labas ng Estados Unidos.
“These are tentative talks. To make it happen, we’d have to do it outside of the United States, and outside of the Philippines, of course. And we’d have to make it work with a big site fee,” wika ni Arum sa isang panayam.
Bago din aniya ang isyu sa coronavirus, iminungkahi na raw noon ng 88-year-old promoter na gawin ang Pacquiao-Crawford face-off sa huling bahagi ng tag-init o sa taglagas.
Sa kabila ng nangyayaring coronavirus pandemic, positibo pa rin si Arum na matutuloy pa rin ang naudlot na negosasyon.
“But I am optimistic that I will be able to continue with these talks in the next month or so. I talked to Terence and [trainer/manager Brian McIntyre] about it. It appears to me that Crawford and Pacquiao wanna go ahead with that fight.”
Samantala, kahit na namayagpag si Pacquiao sa huli nitong tatlong mga laban, inihayag ni Arum na pupusta pa rin daw ito sa WBO titleholder na si Crawford, na isa rin sa mga top pound-for-pound fighters ngayon.
“If I had to bet the fight, I’d bet Crawford,” ani Arum. “But now I think Pacquiao is in there with a good chance. There’s no question that it’ll be an entertaining fight. Manny seems dedicated again. I’ve had that situation before, where guys get to be a little older, but somehow their skills aren’t diminished. Look at ‘Big’ George Foreman winning the [heavyweight] title at 45.”
