Pacquiao in LA to finalize date, venue for Injin bout

This week is going to provide a clearer picture of Manny Pacquiao’s next fight — whom he’s going to face and where it’s going to be held.

Pacquiao is scheduled to be in Los Angeles this Wednesday to meet Top Rank big boss Bob Arum and finalize the details of his scheduled bout on April 28.

Pacquiao is expected to sign the fight contract once he sits down with Arum, his new promoter.

While the stars point to a showdown with Korean slugger Injin Chi, it remains uncertain where the bout, Pacquiao’s first since his Nov. 18 victory over Erik Morales, would take place.

According to previous plans, the 12-round bout at 130 lbs will be held in Macau, China where the newest Wynn Hotel proudly stands. Macau is now billed as the "Las Vegas of Asia."

But a recent tour of Macau by Pacquiao’s close associate Wakee Salud yielded negative results with questions being raised whether or not the fight could draw a big crowd.

One thing going against Macau is the absence of a venue that could house at least 10,000 fans. As it is, only the Macau East Asian Games Dome is the best choice, but with a limited sitting capacity of 7,000.

It was reported that Pacquiao had little following in Macau, except of course for the Filipinos based there. But 95 percent of the people living in Macau are Chinese, and they hardly follow boxing.

These factors have led to the possibility that the fight will be held somewhere else.

Now, there are four other possible hosts being mentioned. They are Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tokyo and San Francisco.

All these will be considered and tackled once Paquiao sets foot in LA this week.