If Manny Pacquiao thinks there's a better deal for him than a 50-50 split with Ricky Hatton, the Hatton camp might be ready to let him find it.
From the Guardian:
While Bob Arum is in the Philippines, attempting to persuade Manny Pacquiao to sign for a 2 May fight against Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas, Hatton's manager and father, Ray, has said his team are ready to scrap the contest if agreement is not reached early next week.Arum, 77, had agreed a 50–50 split on purse revenue for the contest with Hatton's promoter, Golden Boy, but the deal has been thrown into doubt by Pacquiao changing his demand to 60%.
"We have the offer of another massive fight in the summer, in the British Isles, which would bring a crowd of 80,000 or more," said Ray Hatton. "We are extremely serious in our threat that we will pull the plug on Pacquiao and go for that alternative if that contract is not signed. We will not be messed around."
The 80,000 or more mystery man? It's one of two guys. It's either Floyd Mayweather, who probably wouldn't travel to the U.K. to fight Hatton, or it's Oscar de la Hoya, who would.
If it's Oscar, that means Mayweather -- who is going to come back this year and fight, let's get real -- will be open for Pacquiao right away. What's Manny getting there? 60-40 Mayweather at best?
Bob Arum kind of bent over backward and brilliantly negotiated a nice cut of U.K. revenue for Pacquiao, and now Manny is screwing around with dumb demands. Even Freddie Roach is quoted as on board with 50-50:
"I hope the fight happens, and I think 50–50 is a good deal," he said. "I agree with it because Hatton brings a lot of people from the UK, so I hope I can get Manny on board."
There is no reason this fight won't happen except greed from the Pacquiao people. It's as simple as that. I love Manny, too, but he doesn't get a pass for a situation that a lot of other fighters would get slammed over.