Somebody is trying to sabotage fight, says Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao assures Lucas Matthysse fight will go as planned. Wendell Alinea

Manny Pacquiao reiterated that his upcoming world welterweight title challenge with Lucas Matthysse of Argentina will push through following reports that it may not happen due to payment delays.

The 8-division former world champion, who also serves as the lead promoter of the bout, asserted that his firm has already settled its financial obligations, thus ensuring that the fight will take place on July 15 in Kuala Lumpur as scheduled. 

“MP Promotions had already settled the financial issues. Last Monday, we sent the initial payment to the Golden Boy Promotions and the Matthysse Camp. The remaining amount will be released as scheduled,” Pacquiao said in Philboxing.

The fighting senator also said they are constantly in touch with the camp of Matthysse.

He thanked Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and the Matthysse camp for ignoring the insinuations made his former promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc. 

REPORTED: Payment delays hounding Pacquiao-Lucas Matthysse fight: US report

“Despite our efforts, there are still some individuals who wanted to sabotage the fight. I am saddened, but not affected, by what they are doing. May God enlighten their minds and soften their hearts,” Pacquiao said. 

ESPN’s Dan Rafael earlier reported that MP Promotions, working on the bout in association with Golden Boy Promotions, has missed several deadlines to fund various aspects of the fight.

“An initial payment of $500,000 was made to the Golden Boy/Matthysse camp when the fight was signed, but the rest of the money for their side — $2 million, according to a source — is more than a month past the deadline for when it was supposed to be deposited into an escrow account to hold the money until after the fight takes place,” wrote Rafael.

Rafael also reported that MP Promotions has also failed to deposit funds needed to cover production costs of commercial spots of the fight that was initially going to be an ESPN pay-per-view event. 

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)

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