Manny Pacquiao could be set to finally fight in the UAE after a member of his camp claimed his upcoming bout with Jeff Horn will “100 per cent” be held in the Emirates, although as of Sunday night there had been no confirmation from the sports bodies within the country.
The Filipino, an eight-division world champion, was expected to take on Australian Horn in Brisbane on April 23, but it was suggested this weekend that the two will clash instead in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. On Sunday, Pacquiao’s official social media accounts posted a message saying “See you in UAE for my next fight”.
However, an event of that magnitude would certainly require the involvement and approval of either the Abu Dhabi Sports Council or the Dubai Sports Council. Yet sources at each told The National the respective organisations were unaware of any such plans.
Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, had already announced that the fight would be staged in the UAE. Speaking in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, he said: “It took us a while to get this deal together. There was a lot of confusion whether this is going to happen here in the UAE.
“I’m here with full authority and power. I have been the marriage counsellor for Manny and we have developed a relationship. I’m involved in all aspects of what he does. We have executed the agreement in the morning and 100 per cent the fight will be here in the UAE.”
To add to the uncertainty, Pacquiao’s promoter, Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum, was thought to have an agreement in place with Horn’s promoter, Duco Events, for Pacquiao to defend his WBO Welterweight title against the unbeaten Australian in Brisbane.
“I was aware Bob was talking in Australia about hosting the fight there, but it is fine with us,” Koncz said. “I told Bob to go ahead but don’t close it. When Bob said it will happen there I asked him ‘what are you talking about?’ A promoter works for the boxer but the boxer doesn’t work for the promoter.
“We have had a successful bond with him, but Manny is the boss. I told him ‘why are you speaking to the media when it is just a backup plan?’”
The news has surprised organisers in Australia, though. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Duco's Dean Lonergan, who said he believed negotiations were continuing to host the fight at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
“For the last six weeks I’ve been dealing with Bob Arum and Top Rank, since he’s the promoter of Manny Pacquiao, to put this together,” Lonergan said. “We now get to the point where we think we can get close to closing it so it’s going to be in Australia.
“As far as I’m concerned this has totally come out of the blue” he said in reference to the venue switching to the UAE. “We’re just going to have to wait and see if there’s any substance to the story. I’m talking today to Brad Jacobs, the COO [chief operating officer] of Top Rank, and the other people from the Top Rank team and we continue to organise the fight and until I’m told otherwise by Bob Arum, as far as I’m concerned, we’ll just keep moving forward with Brisbane and trying to get the deal done here.”
Pacquiao (59-6-2), who is also a senator in the Philippines House of Representatives, made a successful return to the ring on November 5 with a unanimous decision over Jessie Vargas following a short retirement to pursue his career in politics. Horn, 29, has 16 wins from 17 fights with one draw.
Editor’s note: This story is an update from an earlier version to include sources from Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Dubai Sports Council.
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