By Nick Giongco - The voice on the other line was hardly audible what with the electric atmosphere Saturday night at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.But there was one thing Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum made it known clearly: Dallas is going to be an excellent host for the March 13 showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey.
“It’s fantastic,” Arum told the Bulletin over his mobile phone as he watched the Cowboys dump the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-14, from the VIP suite of team owner Jerry Jones and former US president George W. Bush and wife Laura.
“Dallas is going to be a great host. I can’t wait. This is going to be a great facility for boxing,” said Arum, who is lining up a press conference there and in New York as well to further hype up the Pacquiao-Clottey clash.
Top Rank chairman Arum, who flew from Las Vegas with stepson and Top Rank president Todd DuBoef, said he expects the deal to be formalized on Sunday.
“Give me a ring tomorrow and I’ll provide all the details,” said the ecstatic Arum, who had to find another opponent for Pacquiao after original choice Floyd Mayweather backed out owing to a dispute over random drug testing.
Pacquiao, who beat up Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in his last fight last November in Las Vegas, will be staking his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown.
“There’s going to be no catch weight on this one,” said Arum, stressing that both fighters will box at the welter limit of 147 lbs.
The Bronx-based Clottey, originally from Accra, Ghana, is a rugged banger who gave Cotto fits in their 12-round brawl last year at Madison Square Garden in New York. Arum said he can draw as much as 50,000 people for the fight in the 80,000-capacity stadium built for $1.2 billion.
“We’ll set it up for 50,000,” added Arum.
Source: mb.com.ph
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