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28 March 2024

UAE group wants Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight in Abu Dhabi

Published
By Allaam Ousman

UAE has emerged as the front runner to stage the eagerly awaited mega fight between Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao and unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather Jr in the first half of 2015.

It has gathered momentum after a boxing executive from the UAE claimed his group had offered Mayweather $110 million out of a record-setting total purse of almost $200 million to fight Pacquiao in Abu Dhabi.

According to BoxingScene.com website, M. Akbar Muhammad said: “The Abu Dhabi group … is ready, willing and able to fund to the extent necessary to turn the theory of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight into reality.”

President and Chief Operating Officer of Akbar Productions, LLC of New Jersey, USA, Muhammad says the investment group which is prepared to offer combined purses to Mayweather and Pacquiao of almost $200 million, is comprised of individuals from Abu Dhabi.

Muhammad, has extensive experience in the boxing industry, hopes to engage Mayweather Promotions, LLC, to promote other boxing cards in the UAE.

However, the billion dollar question is whether Mayweather is really interested in fighting Pacquiao.

Pacquiao wasted little time addressing a possible showdown with Mayweather after demolishing Chris Algieri last month.

“I think it’s time to say something,” Pacquiao said at a post-fight news conference. “The fans deserve that fight. It’s time to make that fight happen.”

In another development, Sports Illustrated reported if a Pacquiao fight were to happen, Mayweather would need to receive close to two-thirds of the revenue.

The demand has echoes of one made by Mayweather that both he and Pacquiao submit to stringent blood and urine tests before a 2010 matchup that had appeared certain to take place.

Negotiations broke down over the drug-testing proposal, and eventually Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather over the latter’s allegations that the former had used performance-enhancing drugs.

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum told SI.com in a telephone interview that while he has not seen the proposal, he has no objection to the fight taking place abroad.

"If Mayweather signs on, if the deal with us is OK, we have no objection to fighting in Abu Dhabi," Arum said.

Meanwhile, a Dubai-based boxing promoter 'Prince' Amir Shafypour, Promoter and Managing Director at Golden Cage Promotions and Events, is also keen to bring Pacquiaio "with or without" Mayweather to the UAE.

He will be flying to the US to put forward his proposal to Boxing Hall of Famer Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank.

Prince Amir will also be a guest of British boxer Amir Khan who will be fighting American welterweight Devon Alexander at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday December 13.