So, Bob Arum, Will You and Top Rank Do Manny Pacquiao’s Next Fight?

Maybe you saw the social media post last week, from the Manny Pacquiao accounts, which asked people to call him, to deal with him, regarding promotion of his next fight.

To be honest, I thought maybe the 60-7-2 Pacman would be looking to once again hand off some of the drama and labor, and let Top Rank handle the promotional wagon pulling. So, I reached out to Bob Arum, the Top Rank bossman, in the biz since 1966, to get an update on where things stand between Manny, who turns 40 in December,  and Top Rank.

“Manny, we’re very good friends, so I will sit with him soon personally and will figure out what he wants to do,  get him back in action,” Arum told me.  “I think he realizes now he cannot carry all the loads and be successful….he can be successful in the ring, but wasn’t particularly successful in the promotion (of his last fight, against Lucas Mattyhsse in Malaysia July 15). I can’t see he made any money, he probably lost money.”

Michael Koncz, Manny’s long-time right-hand man in the boxing sphere, offered his POV on the Pacquiao-Matthysse promotion. “Manny enjoyed the experience and absolute freedom of promoting himself and emphasize  to me last night that will continue to do so. There were minor hiccups and obstacles, however it was our first time solo and MP Promotions succeeded when many thought we would fail . The fight and promotion in Malaysia was a profitable endeavor and Manny certainly made more promoting himself then he did in his last fight with Jeff Horn.”

So there you go. We will see how this one plays out. The Manny ‘n’ Bob tandem has had a whole lot of hits together, we will see if the run continues…

You can hear more from Arum on the Everlast “Talkbox” podcast.