Hatton set to sign contract vs Pacquiao: report
The camp of Britain’s Ricky Hatton is set to formally accept the challenge to face Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in a May 2 “superfight” in Las Vegas, Nevada, a sports website reported Tuesday.
According to a report posted on SportingLife.com, Hatton lawyer Gareth Williams already has in his possession the contract signed by Pacquiao.
“We have got the contract signed by Manny,” said Williams.
Williams admitted that Hatton has yet to sign the contract, but they are ready to ink the deal and announce the fight at a press conference on Thursday (Wednesday in Manila).
“All the pressure is off now,” he said.
Pacquiao signed the fight contract last Friday.
ABS-CBN correspondent Dyan Castillejo quoted the Filipino boxer as saying, “The fight is on!”
The negotiations between the two camps were long and arduous as both parties haggled over the share of the fight revenue.
The Hattons initially demanded a 50-50 split of the earnings while Pacquiao made a counter-offer of 60-40.
Pacquiao’s camp later lowered the demand to 55-45 after Hatton’s party offered a 52-48 split.
The Filipino boxer eventually signed the contract with a 52-48 sharing of the revenues. Pacquiao handler Bob Arum of Top Rank reportedly “sweetened” the deal to convince the Filipino.
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