When Senator Manny Pacquiao steps back into the boxing ring on Nov 5 to go up against Jessie Vargas, things will be different.
For one, he will make his mark as the country’s first-ever fighting senator.
Also, both HBO and the the MGM Grand in Las Vegas won’t be part of this milestone in Pacquiao’s career.
In August, ESPN reported that HBO had declined to air the fight because “it did not want to have two pay-per-view events in the same billing cycle and it is already committed to the Nov 19 HBO PPV fight between unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.”
Then, as reported in Balitanghali, the MGM Grand said no to the Pacquiao-Vargas fight “due to a conflict of schedule.”
Both HBO and the MGM Grand had been part of Pacquiao’s previous fights.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said that in lieu of HBO, they are still seeking an alternative distribution partner. Instead of the MGM Grand, the bout will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Sports analyst Sam Cooper weighed in on these changes, writing, “Honestly, Pacquiao deserves much better than a comeback like the one awaiting him. It’s legitimately depressing to visualize a guy who has meant so much to so many fans playing to almost zero interest in a bout that nobody (outside of his own team and Vargas’ team) cares about.”
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