Update on Pac vs Goldenboy

From Dan Rafael's insider blog:




Roach's idea on how to split the dough


Thursday, August 21, 2008

Although the proposed Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao super fight is hanging by a thread, at least there is still life left in the negotiations for what would easily be the biggest bout of 2008. The talks hit an impasse last week when the sides, after agreeing on everything else, still could not get together on how to split the giant pile of money. We should all have such problems, but to refresh your memory: De La Hoya wants a 70-30 split in his favor, his reasoning being that if 30 percent was good enough for Floyd Mayweather Jr. , it ought to be good enough for Pacquiao. Pacquiao hasn't budged from a demand for 40 percent. Over 10 percent, a potentially $100 million-plus fight appeared dead. But behind the scenes, the sides continued to talk because Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, and Richard Schaefer, the CEO of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, are smart businessmen. They both know the fight is the one that makes the most sense for everyone involved. Although they've been fierce rivals, Arum and Schaefer appear to be on the same side on this one. They know it will only take each fighter to give a little for the dam to break, so they keep plugging away.

When I spoke to Arum the other day, he admitted the sides were still talking and that he expected to be on the phone plenty this week even though he was about to board a flight for France, where he was headed on vacation for the week with his wife. "I've been talking to Schaefer," he said. "Hopefully, we'll find a solution. I am optimistic. It's so logical. And how about this -- in Las Vegas, the odds are almost dead even. Oscar is only a little bit of a favorite." De La Hoya, who hosted his annual charity golf tournament in Los Angeles this week, also gave two clear signals indicating Pacquiao was still in his plans. One, De La Hoya said he was already down to 149 or 150 pounds, a clear indication that he's well on his way to 147 pounds, the weight that had been agreed upon for a fight with Pacquiao, the reigning pound-for-pound king who holds a lightweight title. He would move up from 135 pounds. The other was that De La Hoya said he wanted to have the opponent for his Dec. 6 supposed career-finale in place by next week. That would obviously mean that he wouldn't be fighting junior middleweight titlist Sergio Mora, with whom there had been serious discussions, because De La Hoya doesn't want to wait to see if he beats Vernon Forrest in a Sept. 13 rematch that De La Hoya, ironically, is promoting.


So how exactly do the fighters overcome their disagreement on how to split the dough?

I had a thought and was about to expound upon it in one of these blogs when Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, De La Hoya's ex-trainer and a strong proponent of the match, called me Tuesday to throw out the same suggestion. It goes like this: De La Hoya gets 60 percent and Pacquiao gets 30 percent. Let them fight for the other 10 percent with the winner ending up with what he wanted. "I think Manny and Oscar like to gamble a little bit," Roach said, referring to their well-known enjoyment of wagering. "I love that idea. Just give the extra percentage to the winner of the fight. "Let's make this a real prize fight. The winner gets the 10 percent. That draws interest in the fight and shows that these guys really want to fight each other. People love when something is on the line. Let's put something on the line. I know both guys like to gamble." Eric Gomez, Golden Boy's matchmaker and De La Hoya's best friend since childhood, was intrigued by the idea. "It's something that is very interesting. It's a different spin on normal negotiations," he said. "It's something that is very, very interesting. I think that can be looked at. Obviously, the final decision is going to come from Oscar."

The idea is not without precedent. On a lesser scale, the scenario is exactly the same for "The Contender" reality series. Super middleweights Sakio Bika and Jaidon Codrington both advanced to last November's third-season finale. By making it that far in the tournament, each was guaranteed $150,000. However, the winner of the final would receive an additional $600,000, making the grand prize worth $750,000. They were as hungry as could be to win and fought like it. The result was Bika scoring an eighth-round knockout in a sensational brawl. It was one of the best fights of the year. Roach said he suggested the idea to two of Pacquiao's closest advisers, attorney Franklin "Jeng" Gacal and adviser Michael Koncz. "I ran it by them and they thought it was a good idea, but they don't feel like Oscar really wants the fight," Roach said. Although Roach has been pushing the fight since Pacquiao annihilated David Diaz to win a lightweight title June 28, he said it irritates him that people think he's only doing so because he would also be in line for a huge payday. But Roach has an answer for those critics. "I've gotten some flak from people who say I am only doing this for the money," he said. "But I will train Manny for free if we lose. If we lose, Manny doesn't have to pay me a dime, that's how confident I am that we beat De La Hoya. "I told Michael Koncz I would consider taking less to make Manny happy. I will do whatever it takes to make this fight. It's not just the fight. It's what a win will do for Manny's career. You start getting Oscar's fans on Manny's bandwagon and every fight he has after that, whether it's Ricky Hatton or Mayweather, is a megafight." Said Gomez, "That's very, very brave on Freddie's part, but it shows that he has a lot of confidence in his fighter."

So, can the fight get done? Will somebody give a little? "It's a big enough fight that the powers that be will be able to make the fight I think," Gomez said. "I think Richard and Bob are clever enough to come up with a solution." You can bank on it.

wow!!!!! I am speechless. A splendid idea.:cool:

That is an excellent idea!! The more the fight makes the more the extra 10% is worth. A prize fight..... cool. But it's not like they will be fighting because they need the money, so it's a bit different in that respect. Just some extra incentive to win. It also takes the psych out of the deal as no one wins yet, cool.........:cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bikersk

That is an excellent idea!! The more the fight makes the more the extra 10% is worth. A prize fight..... cool. But it's not like they will be fighting because they need the money, so it's a bit different in that respect. Just some extra incentive to win. It also takes the psych out of the deal as no one wins yet, cool.........:cool:

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I agree. If ODLH and Pacman are really interested in making this fight happen, they should agree on this condition. That way, the 10% goes to the more deserving fighter.:cool:

And if that's all they are contesting then there really is no reason not to have the fight happen. I'm sure they both feel that they wil get that extra 10%.