Manny Pacquiao Update: "Huge" Nike Deal in the Works, Team Wants Him to Have Say in Network

Manny Pacquiao won't fight until November 12 in a third battle with Juan Manuel Marquez, but he's in the news as always. Franklin Gacal, part of Pacquiao's legal team, feels that the fighter should have a say in which network will carry the fight:

"While we respect Bob Arum's decision, everything must be transparent to Manny because he gets a percentage of everything that goes into the pot," said Gacal.

... "That's why right from the start, Manny should be involved in it. He should know so by the end of the day, when the accounting is done, everything is there to see," he added.

"Manny has to have a say in choosing the network."

HBO has made a proposal to Bob Arum and Top Rank, with Arum saying the offer was incredible:

Pacquiao's May fight against Shane Mosley was surprisingly carried by Showtime, with the CBS network involved in the promotion, resulting in Pacquiao's biggest-selling PPV to date despite what many fight fans felt was a poor matchup (and they turned out to be right).

But right now it appears that HBO is in the driver's seat. They've been the No. 1 network in boxing for years for a reason, and with Showtime picking up their game the last two years, it seems they're ready to go deeper than they ever have before -- and they definitely could have gone deeper than they have to date, but with Showtime not presenting a serious "threat," had no reason to do so.

Arum also says that Nike is working with Manny on a major endorsement deal:

"It's a huge, huge merchadise deal for all over the world," said Arum. "It was supposed to happen on June 18. But we had to postpone that meeting until sometime in July."

I actually saw a dude in a Pacquiao Nike shirt tonight at the bar here in lovely and exciting Valparaiso, Indiana. First boxing shirt I've seen here in flyover country in a long, long time.