Pacquiao Eyes Biggest Payday

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao will earn his biggest paycheck in his fight against Tim Bradley on June 9 in Las Vegas, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said Thursday.

"Manny's going to get his biggest guaranteed purse in this fight with Bradley," Arum told the Manila Bulletin from his Las Vegas home.

Arum declined to say exactly how much Pacquiao will be getting but when he beat Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico last year, the Filipino fighter earned his biggest guaranteed purse of $22 million.

In contrast, Marquez got his biggest purse as well: $5 million.

Arum, who runs Top Rank, the world's leading promotional outfit for boxing, stressed that Bradley "will be earning the biggest in his entire career."

Pacquiao will also be getting a share in pay-per-view sales, gate receipts and a slice of the international broadcast rights, including the Philippine telecast that is also a major source of his earnings.

Arum said a formal announcement coming from him will be forthcoming as his stepson and Top Rank President Todd Duboef is finalizing the deal with Cameron Dunkin, who manages Bradley.

Dunkin confirmed having met with Duboef, but said an agreement hasn't been reached.

"We'll see what happens," Dunkin told the Manila Bulletin.

He expressed a bit of disappointed in not seeing a few things he had expected in the offer sheet that was presented by Duboef.

Arum, though, is not alarmed and expects Bradley, who signed a promotional contract with him last year, to eventually come to terms with Top Rank.

"There's no big deal," said the 80-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer, referring to some contentious aspects of the contract.

Arum is so confident that everything will fall into place that he already has an itinerary in place for a three-city press tour that will kick off in Las Vegas on February 19.

The two other stops will be Los Angeles on February 21 and New York on February 23.

Pacquiao is tentatively scheduled to arrive in the US on Feb. 16 since he has a deposition regarding the defamation case filed against Floyd Mayweather on Feb. 17.

Also on tap for Pacquiao during his visit is a tribute to be given to Muhammad Ali on Feb. 18 in commemoration of Ali's 70th birthday last Jan. 17.