Who’s next for Manny?

I never saw the contract that Manny Pacquiao signed to fight Marco Antonio Barrera but the newly-crowned consensus world featherweight boxing champion’s business manager Rod Nazario said there’s a provision for a return bout in case the Filipino won.

Barrera insisted on the clause in case of a Pacquiao upset and offered a $700,000 purse to make it palatable. Nazario didn’t hesitate to sign on the dotted line. A victory for Pacquiao meant a two-fight guarantee of $1,050,000 – a king’s ransom in local currency. That comes to at least P57.7 Million.

So what’s Manny’s share of the pie? First, you take out 30 percent for taxes. Then, you deduct 10 percent of gross for trainer Freddie Roach’s services. You remove another five percent for Filipino trainers Lito Mondejar and Buboy Fernandez. From what remains after training expenses, you set aside 30 percent for registered manager Marty Elorde and 10 percent for Nazario. If you work out the numbers, Pacquiao will be lucky to take home $100,000 of the $350,000 paycheck from the Barrera fight.

I remember Pacquao mentioning once he’ll never agree to pocket less than 50 percent of his gross purse. He argued that since he takes the beating in the ring, he deserves at least half of what’s on the table. Of course, he’s absolutely right.

Now, you wonder how much does US promoter Murad Muhammad earn from pushing Pacquiao’s envelope? He doesn’t share in Pacquiao’s purse and you know he’s not negotiating fights for nothing. I figure he skims off the top, meaning he takes his cut before Pacquiao’s "gross" purse.

In the Barrera fight, for instance, Golden Boy Promotions sold the rights to Home Box Office (HBO) cable TV and guaranteed Pacquiao a certain sum, reportedly $350,000. But I suspect Golden Boy’s budget for Pacquiao was much more — otherwise, Muhammad wouldn’t earn a cent from the deal. How much more is the question. A fight insider claimed the gross purse was $700,000. Another said a Japanese boxing magazine reported it was $450,000. Unless Golden Boy or HBO discloses the amount, you’ll never know for sure.

Curiously, Golden Boy owner Oscar de la Hoya said there is no rematch clause in the contract. So who’s telling the truth? I’d rather believe Nazario than de la Hoya especially since Golden Boy is on the paying — not the receiving — end.

Muhammad said with or without a rematch, he’d like Pacquiao to stake his International Boxing Federation (IBF) superbantamweight title against leading contender Jose Luis Valbuena of Venezuela.

Valbuena, 32, is a slick boxer-puncher with a record of 24-2-1, with 14 KOs. His only losses were decisions to former World Boxing Association (WBA) superbantamweight titlist Yober Ortega and Barrera. In 1999, Valbuena displayed his punching power by knocking out Carlos Barretto who died of head injuries three days later.

If Barrera opts out of a rematch and Pacquiao is no longer interested in keeping the IBF crown, the Filipino could take on either Paulie Ayala or unified IBF/WBA featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico.

Ayala, 33, is a southpaw with a 67-inch wingspan and a 35-2 record, including 12 KOs. He’s a former WBA bantamweight and International Boxing Organization superbantamweight titleholder. Ayala was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring Magazine in 1999 and has lost only to Joichiro Tatsuyoshi on a controversial sixth round technical decision and Erik Morales in a battle for the vacant WBC featherweight crown last November.

World Boxing Magazine (June 2003) predicted Pacquiao will beat Ayala via a unanimous decision or a late knockout if they square off. "Pacquiao is a little bit quicker and hits a lot harder plus he has a lot of championship-level experience himself," said the Predictor, an unnamed writer in the magazine.

Marquez, 30, holds both the IBF and WBA featherweight title. He’s coming off a seventh round technical decision win over Derrick (Smoke) Gainer. Marquez hasn’t lost in his last 13 outings. His only setbacks were to Freddie Norwood on points and to Javier Duran on a disqualification in his pro debut in 1993.

Two of Marquez’ knockout victims were Filipinos — Reynante Jamili and Baby Lorona. His record is 42-2, with 33 KOs.

"Marquez is a very technical and smart fighter," said Golden Boy matchmaker Jerry Bilderrain. "The kid takes a hell of a shot and he can deliver." In his most impressive performance so far, Marquez dropped shifty Manuel Medina twice enroute to scoring a seventh round stoppage early this year. He also holds a 12-round win over Agapito Sanchez who once fought Pacquiao to a technical draw.

No matter whom Pacquiao eventually winds up fighting, let’s hope he gets a fair share of his purse. He deserves a lot more than 50 percent of his paycheck. Perhaps, Nazario should negotiate in terms of a net-of-tax purse in Pacquiao’s next fights. The tax bite is a killer and promoters should gross up his purse to spare Pacquiao from taking care of the US government.