Manny Pacquaio Says No to US Fights, Prefers China Instead

If there’s ever going to be a fifth fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine boxing champ made it a point that it could happen anywhere but not in the US.

Yahoo! Sports reports that there will be preference in venue if the Marquez-Pacquiao fight pushes through. Pacquiao’s chief adviser said that if there is going to be a fifth match, the boxing champion wants to stay away from Las Vegas and prefers another Chinese gambling resort in Macau.

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Michael Koncz, Manny’s adviser said that the boxer is watchful of the 39.6 percent tax he would have to pay if the event takes place in the US.

But boxing promoter Bob Arum has different plans. Arum is still hopeful to arrange a fifth match between Marquez and Pacquiao that would potentially happen during fall on September 14. His preference for the venue would be at the MGM Grand which is the company’s headquarters.

But Arum and Koncz are considering the amount Pacquiao has to pay if the boxing match happens in Las Vegas. If it happens in either Singapore or in Macau, Manny will not need to pay for anything.

“Manny can go back to Las Vegas and make $25 million, but how much of it will he end up with – $15 million? If he goes to Macau, perhaps his purse will only be $20 million, but he will get to keep it all, so he will be better off,” Arum explained.

While avoiding a huge tax would be beneficial for Pacquiao, there would be a downside for Arum in terms of pay per view. Arum said that there would be a decrease of approximately 50% in pay per view sales if the boxing event happens outside North America.

“We were talking only this morning about where and when and against who he would fight next. One thing we agreed on is that the taxes make Vegas a no-go. You’re a fighter up there risking your life in the ring, so you have to maximize what you are going to get out of it,” explained Koncz. “I know, Manny knows, that he only has a certain number of fights left, maybe one, maybe three. We don’t know. So that means the priorities change a little bit at this point.”

While there are growing concerns about the venue, another thing that the Pacquaio team should consider is if Marquez would agree to another fight. Now that he has finally won against Pacquaio with an impressive knockout, why would he risk losing again?

Well there is going to be a lot of convincing and planning if a fifth fight will push through. But as for Marquez, he has nothing more to prove.

via Manny Pacquaio Says No to US Fights, Prefers China Instead.