source: Ronnie Nathanielsz | manilastandardtoday.com
UPDATE: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has turned down the bid of the famed Araneta Coliseum.
Banking on the memorable “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on Oct. 1, 1975, the Araneta Coliseum is interested in making a bid to be the venue for the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight scheduled for March 13.
George “Nene” Araneta, the owner of the Big Dome, told Standard Today he is keen on making a bid to stage the fight, pointing to the track record of the Araneta Coliseum, its capacity of 18,000—more than that of the MGM Grand—and the fact that the Philippines is the home of sports hero Manny Pacquiao.
Araneta asked Standard Today to inquire from Top Rank promoter Bob Arum what it would take to hold the fight in the Philippines.
“When nobody thought the country could pull off the Ali-Frazier ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ we did,” noted Araneta.
Arum, who arrived in Las Vegas on Monday (Manila time), was scheduled to finalize an official announcement on the fight but no decision has been made on where it will be held.
This writer is scheduled to contact him today to discuss the possibilities, although the inquiry was already relayed to Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz.
Koncz initially said the problem would be the cost of fight tickets which, in the US, would cost the equivalent of P100,000 for the choice seats.
Arum, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer and HBO Sports’ Ross Greenburg are scheduled to fly to Dallas, Texas, tomorrow to meet with Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and their new, state-of-the-art stadium which reportedly has a capacity of 100,000 and cost $1.2 billion.
Arum himself told Standard Today that he felt the MGM Grand Garden Arena had the edge in the struggle as the site of what he termed the biggest fight of the past 20 years and something that is bigger than 10 Super Bowls.
Araneta didn’t appear to be awed by the fact that he would have to compete against the big players in the United States, confident that the Araneta Coliseum had the history and the inherent built-in attractions of the Philippines on its side as well as a public that hero-worships Pacquiao.
UPDATE: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has turned down the bid of the famed Araneta Coliseum.Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Jr. Prediction
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di aarok ang araneta sa dami ng gustong manood ng fight sa buong mundo.,. saka mukang pera si arum kaya malaking venue hinahanap nun
tumahimik na lang kayo taga araneta...palpak ang mga security nyo laging hinahayann mabugbug yung mga fans...pang PBA lang kayo...
GO ! Araneta Coliseum
Pag sa Araneta gaganapin ang laban hindi na papayag yan si Floyd na lumaban kay pacman.
lets be realistic. nun yun...
mukhang mahihirapan maghost ng fight ang araneta coliseum kasi
1.) magiging tanghali ang fight dito kasi pagbeam sa pay-per-view eh kelangan primetime sa u.s.
2.) saksakan ng mahal ang ticket nya. 100k? sa sine ka na lang manuod. ganun din naman.
ang pangit kaya ng big dome sa loob tsaka sa lbas masyado ng luma
ay magdadahilan nanaman si mayweather pag sa pilipinas ginanap ang laban sasabihin nya eh hometown decision tska itong laban na to ay inaasahan na million dollar ang kikitain sa mga tickets the sad thing is kung ikukumbert dito sa pinoy money ang tickets eh mahigit 100 thousands pesos hays plus plane ticket pa ng mga manood eh iisipin nila masyado magastos kaya pag sa pinas ginanap eh lugi ang laban
isa pa sa mga dahilan kaya pala walang disneyland sa pilipinas eh ayaw pala ni mickey mouse kasi daw mahirap pa daw tayo sa daga hays sad but true lets be honest here
yung itsura ng Araneta nung Thrilla in Manila noon at ngayon eh pareho lang..linagyan lang ng konting palamuti..asa pa tyo..magmumukha lang sabungan ang araneta. Wag na lang...
amp kapal nmn ng mukha mag bid ng araneta haha kalaban nila dallas cowboy na stadium 1.5 billion dollars! haha e yan wala pa 100 million PESOS ata yan e haha
ARUM SAID ITS NOT GONNA HAPPEN READ THE ARTICLE FIRST
magisip muna kayo taga Araneta bago magsalita!!