MANILA, Philippines – A fight promoter in Dubai, one of the Middle East’s major business and cultural hubs, has expressed his desire to hold a much-anticipated clash between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Promoter Prince Amir Shafipour, based in the United Arab Emirates, boasted about his capability to stage such megabout.
“I will honestly and truthfully tell you that if anyone can convince them (Pacquiao and Mayweather) to fight, and to fight in Dubai, I can,†Shafipour recently said in a report by gulfnews.com.
A bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao remains the biggest and richest fight in boxing, and Shafipour is confident he’s the one who can finally make it happen.
How is that possible?
“I have a lot of worldwide connections, with managers, promoters, fighters, people in the business, who speak the same language that Mayweather and Pacquiao are speaking,†Shafipour explained.
“You have to be on the same page as them and only then will you get their attention,†he added.
Shafipour made the statement during the recently held Global Fighting Championship (GFC) event at the Dubai World Trade Centre, which he promoted.
So serious is Shafipour about making a Pacquiao-Mayweather duel that he claimed he has started establishing contacts and laying the groundwork for the promotion.
“I am currently working with a major boxing promoter in the USA, who is connected to both the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps, and who has the capacity to help me pull this off. It’s not a boast, it’s a commitment,†he detailed.
Shafipour’s declaration is the latest twist in the Pacquiao-Mayweather saga, which stays elusive because of the undefeated American’s refusal to face the Filipino icon. Pacquiao recently signed a two-year contract extension with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., further dimming hopes that Mayweather will finally agree to face Pacquiao given his unwillingness to work with Arum.
But most in the boxing community, including Shafipour, still haven’t given up on seeing a fight between two of the sports’ biggest stars.
“Both of them know that the whole world wants to see them fight. And which fighter does not want to give what the world wants?†he said.
“I know many people have failed to bring them to the ring, for many reasons, but I believe that we have the formula to make it happen. And then the whole boxing scene will explode,†the promoter continued.
He went on to market Dubai as the best place in the world to stage such event.
“We have shown fight fans in Dubai, the UAE, what we are capable of doing with the Global Fighting Championships. We brought some of the best K-1 fighters to Dubai and they put on a terrific show for a million dirham bonus, in addition to the big appearance money they collected. This was just the start. This will culminate in the biggest fight ever, between Pacquiao and Mayweather,†Shafipour stressed.
“We already have the best horse race, golf and tennis events taking place, what we now need it a fight event that will blow everyone away and that event is Pacquiao vs Mayweather — and we are going to make it happen,†he ended.