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 There will be no equal sharing of the total prize purse and revenues when Manny Pacquiao tangles with British “Hitman” Ricky Hatton on May 2.
Team Pacquiao is leaning on a 65-35 percent revenue deal in favor of the Filipino ring superstar—or at least 60-40.
If the Hatton camp is not amenable to this deal, Team Pacquiao could junk the British battler for a new opponent willing to agree to the Gen. Santos City southpaw’s terms.
“It’s time for Manny to call the shots,” Wakee Salud, a close friend and confidante of Pacquiao, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the phone Monday. “After all, he’s the world’s undisputed best pound-for-pound fighter now.”
Salud said Pacquiao deserves to get the same deal Oscar De La Hoya (65-35 percent) received when the 10-time world champion fought and lost to the Filipino in their “Dream Match” showdown last Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao’s lawyer Franklin “Gheng” Gacal bared in a television interview, also Monday, that the fighter is willing to settle for a 60-40 sharing scheme for the Hatton bout, which has already been slated in Las Vegas.
After spending two weeks with wife Jinkee, children Michael, Emmanuel Jr., Mary Divine Grace and newborn Queen Elizabeth, at their Palazzo residence in Hollywood, Pacquiao returned to Manila early Monday morning.
Jinkee and the baby was left behind in Los Angeles but will follow soon, according to Pacquiao, who took a connecting flight to Gen. Santos City.
The 30-year-old Pacquiao, acclaimed by Ring Magazine and other boxing award-giving bodies as the 2008 Fighter of the Year, intends to catch up with his studies at Notre Dame University and to honor previous commitments.
Earlier reports said Pacquiao would play for his team, GenSan MP, when the Warriors take on the Ilocos Bravehearts at the opening of the 2009 Liga Pilipinas in Gen. Santos on Jan. 14.
According to Salud, Pacquiao will also grace the amateur boxing summit slated Jan. 17 in Bacolod City.
If Pacquiao-Hatton pushes through as scheduled, Salud said Pacquiao will start training early in March at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
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