By John F. McKenna (McKenna): There have been numerous media reports which state that HBO is the clear front runner to host the November 12 Pacquiao – Marquez trilogy. Showtime hosted Pacquiao’s last fight with Shane Mosley on May 7 and a bidding war has erupted between Showtime and HBO to host the lucrative Pacquiao – Marquez fight.

Pay Per View (PPV) buys for Pacquiao – Mosley were in the 1.3 million range and it is believed that Pacquiao – Marquez could exceed 1.4 million.

It has been rumored that one of the reasons Ross Greenburg no longer holds his position at HBO was because of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum’s decision to go with Showtime for the Pacquiao – Mosley fight. HBO is under intense pressure to reel Many Pacquiao back to the reservation so to speak. With Floyd Mayweather only fighting every year and a half or so, HBO misses the huge PPV sells that Manny Pacquiao brought to his fights.

The fight between WBO Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) and Mexican legend WBO, WBA and Ring Lightweight Champion Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 39 KO’s) will be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Ticket sales have been brisk since they went on sale last Friday.

Bob Arum is in the enviable position of being able to play HBO and Showtime off against each other in the bidding war to land Pacquiao – Marquez. Arum allowed the rumors to flourish that HBO had the upper hand at which time Arum issued another statement saying that the final decision had not yet been made. All of this could be yet another ploy by Arum to elicit more money from both participants in the war to land the Pacquiao – Marquez fight.

HBO may indeed have the upper hand. Both of the previous Pacquiao – Marquez fights were on HBO. In the lead up to the fight, HBO will be able to show clips of the two previous fights, which Showtime would not be able to do.

Bob Arum, being the shrewd businessman he is will continue to milk both HBO and Showtime until he deems it appropriate to announce the winner in the ongoing bidding war. The Harvard educated promoter has been at it for a long time and he is currently at the top of his game. If as expected Manny wins on November 12 one thing is certain. The game will begin all over again for Pacquiao’s next fight.