Monday, January 11, 2010

Arum, Jones agree to Pacquiao-Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium

By Chris Mannix - Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have reached an agreement to hold the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboys Stadium on Mar. 13, Arum told SI.com.

The stadium will be set up to seat 45,000 people, a number that can be adjusted should the demand for tickets increase. Ticket prices will range from $700 to $50 for the fight.

"I'm in awe of this place," said Arum, who was Jones' guest for the Cowboys-Eagles game on Saturday. "It's the most magnificent place I have ever seen. Boxing is going to go to a whole new level."

A press conference to announced the fight is scheduled for Jan. 18 in Texas and will be followed by a press event on Jan. 19 in New York City.

A brewing controversy could be over the date. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told SI.com that Floyd Mayweather will also return to the ring on Mar. 13 against an opponent to be named. Schaefer says that Golden Boy has been holding the date for several months. It was originally supposed to be the date for Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones Jr. but that fight was scuttled when Jones was knocked out in the first round by Danny Green.

Former junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi has been linked to a potential Mayweather fight, as has welterweight champion Shane Mosley, though Mosley's Jan. 30 date with Andre Berto would likely preclude him from competing in a March fight.

Two of the world's top fighters fighting on the same date is extremely rare in boxing and if Mayweather and Pacquiao move ahead with these dates it would put HBO in the difficult position of potentially choosing one fight over another. Top Rank has routinely put on Pay Per View shows on their own, however, and could move ahead with one for Pacquiao-Clottey.

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

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