Oscar de la Hoya/Manny Pacquiao mega-fight in the works

Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions have begun negotiations that could culminate in an all but certain box office bonanza—and a pretty good fight—involving De La Hoya and Panamanian superstar Manny Pacquaio. The tentative date for the De La Hoya/Pacquaio bout is December 6, with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas the almost certain venue . With a rematch against Floyd Mayweather off the table due to the pound-for-pound king’s retirement, Pacquaio is certainly the biggest name available for “The Golden Boy” to fight.

As is inevitable with this type of cross promotional negotiation, there are a few contentious issues that need to be resolved. In addition to the obvious—who gets what sized piece of the huge financial “pie”—there are any number of smaller details to be ironed out including ring size, the exact weight limit and brand of gloves. Both Arum and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer suggested that the revenue split was the major bone of contention, and that everything else would be easily resolved. Still, the tone of both men was cordial toward each other and optimistic that a deal could be brokered.

Another potential fight for De La Hoya is also on the horizon—Schaefer also indicated that his client/boss had some interest in fighting Antonio Margarito, who defeated Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas recently. While De La Hoya/Margarito wouldn’t have the mainstream cachet of a bout with Pacquaio, it would be an epic confrontation to the passionate Mexican and Mexican-American boxing fan base. This potential fight could also be little more than a negotiating tool since Margarito’s most likely next move is a rematch against reigning WBO champion Paul Williams.

As intriguing as a matchup between the standard bearers of Mexican boxing would be, there’s no way it could bring in the money that a De La Hoya/Pacquaio matchup could. Pacquaio is a rock star like figure in his native Panama, and De La Hoya is simply one of the biggest box office/PPV draws in the history of “the sweet science”. Properly promoted, Pacquaio/De La Hoya could potentially challenge the record financial windfall generated by De La Hoya/Mayweather.

The next step is for both Schaefer and Arum to take the proposed fight details back to the principles and go from there. Scheaefer is scheduled to meet with De La Hoya next week; Arum’s meeting with Pacquaio might be delayed a bit as “PacMan” is in Beijing at the Olympics.