No Pacman Fight in Vancouver

Last month, we reported that Manny Pacquiao might be coming to Vancouver for his big fight against Humberto Soto. Better known in most circles simply as "Pacman", the Filipino boxer would have been a big draw in this city, not only because we have an active community that it is interested in boxing and mixed martial arts, but also because there is a very significant Filipino population that would love to see Pacman in person.

Two weeks ago, it "was supposedly a 99.9 per cent done deal." Unfortunately, that 0.1 percent kicked in and Pacquiao will not be coming to our city. Instead, he's heading to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to face off against Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico. Organizers are "very disappointed" that the deal with the super featherweight fell through.

One of the conditions of the settlement was that Arum, who promotes Pacquiao and Barrera, who is promoted by Golden Boy, would co-promote a fight between the two. Golden Boy wanted that bout in Vegas.

Apparently the scope of the fight was too big for a smaller venue like GM Place.

"If you get into a war with Vegas, Vegas will always win. It's Mandalay Bay, a hotel and casino, and they can afford to pay $5 million US just to get people in the door," said Hughes, who still wants to build Vancouver into a Pacific Northwest fight mecca.

Source: Canada.com

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No Pacman Fight in Vancouver

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