[Ironwood_Cebu]

Pacquiao will earn more vs Diaz – Arum
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By NICK GIONGCO

Top Rank chief Bob Arum said yesterday that Manny Pacquiao stands to earn more than what he pocketed from the recent rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez when he fights David Diaz for the World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight crown on June 28 in Las Vegas.

"If this fight goes well, he’ll make more money (compared with what he got from the Marquez fight)," Arum said yesterday. "There’s only one promoter (Top Rank) because Diaz also fights under Top Rank and (Pacquiao’s) MP Promotions will benefit from this."

To maximize the full potential of the event, Arum plans to bring Pacquiao to one-day tours of cities like San Francisco, San Diego and even Vancouver (in Canada), where there is a large Filipino population to make the public fully aware of the slugfest, said Arum.

"It would be easy to do this since we will be leasing a private plane so Manny gets to leave at his convenience," said Arum, who brought Pacquiao to the Bay Area as part of the promotional tour for the Marquez match last March 15.

Reports reveal that Pacquiao was guaranteed a purse of $ 5.5 million for the Marquez bout aside from his share in the pay-per-view revenue, closed circuit and ticket sales, while Marquez reportedly was paid $ 1.5 million.

Team Marquez, however, insists there’s no way Pacquiao was given such a hefty amount.

While no formal announcement has been made for the Pacquiao-Diaz showdown set at Mandalay Bay, Arum said he is looking at opening up ticket sales as early as April 19.

Arum likewise said that Diaz has already been informed and details regarding the press conference where Pacquiao and Diaz will be around should be tackled within the month since Top Rank is currently involved in a card being headlined by Miguel Cotto, one of its top talents.

The Chicago-based Diaz, who earned the right to face Pacquiao by outpointing Ramon Montano of Mexico also last March 15, said there’s been no official word yet from Top Rank but he will immediately report for training camp as soon as the fight is announced.

"We are still waiting," Diaz told the Mexican media yesterday.