MANILA, Philippines – Pound-for-pound king and seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao is all set to go the United States for the promotional tour and training for his March 13 fight against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey.
He will leave for Los Angeles Sunday night in order to make it to the press conferences scheduled on Tuesday in Dallas, Texas and Wednesday in New York.
Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Clottey, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion, at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Apart from his busy promotional schedule, Pacquiao is slated to hold a dinner fundraiser for fellow Filipino ZC Oliveros “Z” Gorres in Las Vegas, reported ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo.
Gorres, won over Luis Melendez of Colombia in their 10-round bout in November by unanimous decision, went through an emergency brain surgery in November. The Filipino fighter suffered a left straight punch to the temple from Melendez in the 10th round which caused a blood clot in his brain.
According to PhilBoxing.com, he has been discharged from the University Medical Center (UMC) in Las Vegas after being deemed out of danger after undergoing his 2nd major surgery. (Read: Z Gorres undergoes 2nd major surgery)
Pacquiao’s adviser Mike Koncz said in a press conference that all proceeds will be given to Gorres to help him rebuild his life. He added that they are aiming to raise $500,000 for Gorres.
Returning to the ring as a fighter has been ruled out for the promising Filipino boxer because of the grave injury he suffered.
Still open to fight Mayweather
Meanwhile, Koncz added that they are not closing their doors on Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whom Pacquiao was supposed to face on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Negotiations for the Pacquiao-Mayweather super bout crumbled when the fighters’ camps disagreed on the drug testing protocol. Pacquiao even sued Mayweather and some members of his team for alleging that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Koncz said Team Pacquiao believes that Mayweather did not want the fight that is why he brought up the drug testing issue.
Despite this, Koncz mentioned that they are still open to fight Mayweather just to give the fans the fight they want to see.
Pacquiao and Mayweather earlier agreed on a 50-50 split. Each fighter was estimated to earn at least $40 million to $50 million.
Koncz admitted that Pacquiao will earn less in his fight against Clottey, but it is still a “decent” amount.
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