Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum wants Manny Pacquiao to go on a world tour this year with stops planned in Australia, Russia and England.
Yesterday, Arum told the Bulletin about his proposed itinerary for 2017 as a deal for an April 23 fight in Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, inches closer to fruition with the arrival in the US of promoters from Down Under.
Arum is hosting a meeting with Duco Promotions, with offices in Auckland (New Zealand) and Melbourne (Australia), on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
“Right now, we are only looking at Australia,” said the 85-year-old Arum.
New Zealand natives David Higgins and Dean Lonergan will represent Duco Promotions in the hopes of bringing Pacquiao’s defense of the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against No. 2 rated challenger Jeff Horn at the 52,000-capacity Suncorp Stadium.
Unless a deal-breaker crops up, Arum is looking at Pacquiao bringing his act to Australia although the Top Rank head believes the New Zealand group is determined to get a deal in place.
If Pacquiao, 38, is victorious against Horn, Arum sees him showcasing his talent twice more.
“Russia wants Manny there and England is also interested,” said Arum, who wants to see if that would be possible given the tight Senate schedule.
“We’ll see if Manny can do three fights this year and that would depend on the Senate schedule,” he said.
As soon as Arum and Duco Promotions agree in principle, he will book trip to Manila to formalize everything in writing.
Pacquiao last fought in November against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas.