Top Rank settles for Pacquiao-Clottey

MANILA, Philippines - It’s Manny Pacquiao vs. Josh Clottey in Dallas.

Yes, the fight’s going to happen at Jerry Jones’ $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium which fell short in its $25 million bid on the aborted superfight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The fight will take place on March 13, the same day that was originally reserved for the Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“But Las Vegas is no longer available on March 13. So, most likely it’s Dallas. And it’s still March 13,” said Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, yesterday.

He said Pacquiao leaves for Los Angeles on Jan. 17 to begin his eight-week training for the Clottey fight. He will train in LA until the week before the fight when he takes a 160-minute flight to Dallas.

“The elections are coming up and there will be too many distractions if Manny trains in Baguio City,” said Koncz, referring to the May 10 elections where Pacquiao is seeking a congressional seat in his province of Sarangani.

It was not clear whether Mayweather would fight at the MGM Grand on March 13. But it’s a possibility and they’re looking at Paulie Malignaggi as the opponent.

Hopes for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight died after both parties could not agree on the blood-testing procedure. Pacquiao wants it done 24 days before the fight, and Mayweather 14.

Another Pacquiao adviser, Wakee Salud of Cebu, had proposed a blood-testing 19 days before the fight but it seems that the proposal came a little too late.

Besides, there’s too much animosity now between the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps, after the Filipino boxing icon hurled the Mayweathers and his representatives from Golden Boy to court with a defamation suit.

The opposite camp had insisted on a stringent blood-testing Olympic-style because they suspect that Pacquiao, who has incredibly gone up in weight four times over the last 12 months, is into performance-enhancing drugs.

Now the blood-testing problem is gone, and so is the superfight that could have generated more than $100 million and given both fighters as much as $40 million each.

Clottey is also under Top Rank, like Pacquiao, and there shouldn’t be any problem sealing the fight. Pacquiao’s new opponent, who lost to Miguel Cotto last June, will climb that ring with or without any blood tests.

Arum said from now on, Pacquiao will entertain no more demands for drug-testing Olympic-style and would insist on the way it’s always been done before, Nevada-style, which is mostly based on urine tests.

Falling into Mayweather’s trap, for random blood-testing, and being dragged into countless hours of negotiations did the fight in. From the start, Pacquiao’s camp should have insisted that there’s no way it would happen.

“That was my biggest mistake, allowing any of this to happen. I should have said no. We’re not revisiting [blood testing]. We’re not negotiating with these punks anymore. If Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao down the road, he will have to go by the testing the state commission asks for. If not, life goes on,” Arum told the Sports Illustrated.

And that goes to any of Pacquiao’s future opponents as well.