Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum can’t wait to set foot in Macau to preside over the Nov. 23 world welterweight title clash between Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri.
“Everything’s right on track,” Arum said yesterday from his homebase in Las Vegas.
Arum is at the forefront of drumbeating Top Rank’s last big event for the year with the suave Algieri meeting a couple of bigwigs from the world of showbiz and boxing over the weekend in Sin City.
Algieri, whose model appearance makes him a shoo-in for a runway stint, posed for a picture with Latin hottie Eva Longoria, whom the New Yorker described as “ever so lovely.”
Later, Algieri was seen exchanging pleasantries with former undisputed world heavyweight king Mike Tyson.
Arum will land in Macau on the morning of Nov. 17, just in time for the arrival of Pacquiao in the evening directly from General Santos City.
Algieri, meanwhile, will set up camp in Macau much, much earlier as his team will leave on Nov. 11 in Las Vegas, where he has been training the past few weeks.
A contingent of Pacquiao fanatics are flying in from the Philippines to watch the fight, while a number of hotshots are also traveling to the former Portuguese colony from the US, according to the 82-year-old Arum.
Pacquiao, 35, is guaranteed over $20 million, while Algieri, 30, is receiving about $1.5 million, his biggest paycheck ever, a far cry from his previous-best of $100,000 when he upset Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia last June.
Pacquiao is the big betting favorite against Algieri, who will climb the ring with an undefeated record of 20-0 with eight KOs. (Nick Giongco)