By Chris Williams: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum finally had his dinner with Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez, and Arum says Marquez wants the negotiations for a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao completed by April.
Arum has invited Marquez to attend his April 6th Top Rank fight card in Macao, China to hash out the deal for the fifth fight with Pacquiao this September.
Arum said to the Manila Bulletin this about his dinner meeting with Marquez: “He never mentioned a figure but he wants more than what he got last time. He won the last time so he is entitled to more. It is my job as the promoter to do what is equitable for the two fighters.”
Last time Pacquiao and Marquez fought, Pacquiao got $23 million to Marquez’s $6 million. In other words, it was a 76-24 deal in Pacquiao’s favor.
If Marquez is only saying he wants more than last time without giving Arum a figure, then we could see Arum bump it up a little, but not necessarily to a 50-50 deal, which is arguably what Marquez should be asking for given the fact that a lot of the pay-per-view buys are coming from Mexican boxing fans who want to see Marquez specifically.
Marquez really needs to have his agent meeting with Arum to negotiate on his behalf because it’s best to have a professional that’s an expert at haggling out deals rather than the fighter himself being the one meeting with the promoter to work out a deal.
I think personally, Marquez should start out with him asking for a 60-40 deal in his favor and then maybe retreating backwards to the middle ground to a 50-50 deal. But if he’s going to be negotiating with Arum himself without his agent, then I have a feeling he’s not going to get anywhere close to the 50-50 deal that he arguably should be getting at this point.
Arum says he wants to invite Pacquiao to Macao as well so that they can finish the deal with Marquez while they’re attending the fight card over there headlined by Brian Viloria vs. Juan Francisco Estrada.
Arum wants to stage the Pacquiao-Marquez 5th fight in Macao rather than the United States in order to avoid taxes for Pacquiao and Marquez. It obviously doesn’t hurt to have the fight staged there because Arum is trying to open up the huge Chinese market, and he’s got Chinese Olympian Zou Shiming, a recent Top Rank signee for Arum, making his pro debut on the card against Eleazar Valenzuela. Shiming, a light puncher, will likely never pan out in the pro ranks, but that’s not what this is about.
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