MGM Grand Garden Arena is Luckiest Fight Venue For Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao's business adviser Michael Koncz said Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao 'prefers not' to have his next fight at the Staples Center after Texas Cowboys Stadium was dropped by co-promoter Richard Schaefer as an option to MGM Grand

Recent developments on the fight venue search for the upcoming Pacquiao-Mayweather match point to MGM Grand Garden Arena as the eventual venue for what appears to be next year's biggest boxing event. After Bob Arum's trip to the Philippines to get Pacquiao's nod on the proposed March 13 match between undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, co-promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden of Promotions, dropped the short-listed Texas Cowboys Stadium as a possible venue for the March 13 fight. Cowboys stadium is one of the four possible venues being considered by the promoters for the March 13 boxing event, the others being Yankees Stadium in New York, Super Dome in New Orleans, Staples Center in Los Angeles and MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada. Tax considerations seem to be the main criteria other than capacity of venue, facilities, location, etc. in selecting the fight venue for next year's most anticipated sports event. It seems that Manny Pacquiao is not bent on fighting at the Staples Center due mainly to the resulting tax bill for Filipino boxer. The Filipino boxing superstar should be happy with the latest development on the fight venue as he almost always wins his fights at MGM Grand. Records show that Pacquiao fought nine times out of 12 matches in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The business advisor, Michael Koncz, said he and a Pacquiao accountant have estimated that the boxer would owe a California tax bill they estimate at $3.5 million to $5 million. Koncz said without assurances that Pacquiao's tax bill would be paid with a larger total purse, "Manny doesn't want to fight in California," when the alternatives are no state taxes if the scheduled March 13 bout were fought in Nevada or Texas. Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions and co-promoter of the Pacquiao-Mayweather match, earlier cancelled his trip to Dallas along with Top Rank's Bob Arum to meet with Cowboys management. A day later, news of the Staples Center in California being considered as possible venue surfaced in the Internet. Staples Center reportedly offered $20 million to host the boxing event. Koncz said he was struggling to understand how the Staples offer could beat the site money available in either Las Vegas or Dallas. He said the parties have already discussed a ticket price range between $500 and $2,500 for ringside seats for the bout, which would make it the most lucrative gate in Nevada history, the LA Times report added.