Manny, Arum come to terms

LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao got what he wanted from Top Rank Promotions’ head Bob Arum and yesterday signed a contract, stipulating a $3 million guaranteed purse, to fight Erik Morales in a 12-round rubber match at the Thomas and Mack Center here on Nov. 18.

Pacquiao, consultant Rex (Wakee) Salud and lawyer Jing Gacal met with Arum in an undisclosed place Friday morning to iron out the kinks in the deal. The negotiations reportedly went off without a hitch.

Salud left for the airport to catch the first available flight back to the Philippines right after the meeting to attend his daughter’s debut party while Pacquiao and Gacal stayed behind for a press conference, arranged by Arum, at the Wynn Hotel the next day.

A reliable source said Pacquiao and Arum discussed the possibility of an undercard where only Filipinos and Mexicans would be paired. They also talked about Top Rank promoting a card, also pitting Filipinos against Mexicans, two days before in another Las Vegas venue.

"Arum was excited about the idea but the challenge now is to come up with a list of competitive Filipino fighters," said a source privy to the discussion.

Among the fighters who may pass the test of Arum’s scrutiny are Gerry Peñalosa, Rodel Mayol and Diosdado Gabi, added the source. It is likely that titles will be at stake in the undercard.

At least three hotels are bidding to host the Pacquiao-Morales fight. No decision has been made as to which hotel will secure the rights. But the frontrunners appear to be the Wynn Hotel, which hosted the second Pacquiao-Morales fight, and Caesars Palace where the Pacquiao party checked in a few days ago.

Pacquiao’s manager Shelly Finkel was not present in the morning meeting with Arum and arrived from New York that afternoon, said a source. Finkel had previously negotiated the contract terms with Arum and only Pacquiao’s signature was needed to seal the deal.

Arum had initially offered Pacquiao a $2.5 million guaranteed purse.

A major clause in the contract stipulates a $1 million payoff for Pacquiao in case Morales weighs in at 132 pounds or two over the limit. The penalty is $500,000 if Morales tips the scales at 131. If Morales weighs over 132, Pacquiao takes home $1 million and has the option to accept or decline the fight.

"If Erik fails to make 130 pounds, he will have to pay Manny half a million dollars for every pound that he is over the contracted weight," said Finkel, quoted by the boxing website fightnews.com. "In the press conference for their last fight, Erik said the weight was killing him and he would never fight at 130 again. So we are doing this now so it won’t be an issue later. We are basing it upon what happened in the third fight between (Jose Luis) Castillo and (Diego) Corrales."

Last June, Castillo failed to make the 135-pound limit and Corrales exercised his right to decline the fight. In their second meeting, Castillo also went over the limit but Corrales agreed to fight and was knocked out.

"Erik has a job to do," said Finkel. "Manny has to make the weight, too. It may be easier for him but he still has to make it. Manny has the same penalty if he doesn’t make the weight either."