According to Dan Rafael of espn.com reports that Manny Pacquiao will be back in the ring on November 24th when he takes on former Lightweight champion Brandon Rios in Macau, China.
“People know what Rios brings to the table,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “People want to see a real fight, and that is what you get with Rios. We’re building a business in Macau and China and these are the kinds of fights — real action fights — that they want to see.”
“I think it’s a good match. People who watch boxing have differing views of the sport,” Arum said. “Some like to see an artistic performance like Floyd Mayweather gave [against Robert Guerrero on Saturday night] and other people like to see two guys knocking the s— out of each other. Me, I love a match when the guys go after each other and throw bombs. That’s my preference. It doesn’t mean it’s the right preference, but this is one of those kinds of fights.”
“The two fights with Alvarado were both very close fights and either guy could have won either fight,” said Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz. “We looked at styles and Rios has the better style for Manny. He’ll come forward and throw a lot of punches. Whether it goes five rounds or 12 rounds, it is going to be entertaining for the fans, and that is what Manny wants. Rios was Manny’s choice after Marquez and [Timothy] Bradley turned it down.”
“Manny is definitely going to get his mojo back with this fight,” said Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach told ESPN.com. “Brandon Rios likes to fight in the pocket and exchange, and Manny is very good in the pocket, too. I think it’ll be an exciting fight but that Manny is going to land in the pocket at some point and knock this guy out somewhere along the way. Rios likes to exchange and his style is not really difficult to figure out, so Manny’s gonna hit him.”
“After Marquez and Bradley turned down our offers, Rios was next in line and he took the fight,” Koncz said. “Manny is happy to get back in the ring, so he’s looking forward to this, but right now his major focus is on politics.
Said Arum, “Bradley and Marquez preferred to fight each other and they didn’t really want to go to Asia. The only one that benefits from the fight being outside the U.S. is Pacquiao because an American like Bradley still has to pay taxes in the U.S., and for Marquez [he] still has to pay taxes in Mexico, where the rate is about the same as in the U.S. For Pacquiao, it’s a big deal because the tax rates in the Philippines are much lower.”
“What’s gonna happen with this fight and event will be monumental from the standpoint of economics in boxing,” Arum said. “We have a whole program of how to market pay-per-view in China, and we’re gonna go on a barnstorming tour of China. In the United States, we market essentially only through cable and satellite systems, but in China, where they have about 1.4 billion people, it’s all on the Internet, on iPhones, iPads and computers. If this thing works like we expect that it will, the boxing business will never be the same.”
