Hall of Fame Promoter Bob Arum Makes Sure

Manny Pacquiao vs Chris Algieri on Nov. 23 in Macau. Bob Arum make sure that a rematch clause will be included in the contract.

Joe DeGuardia, Algieri’s promoter, told the Bulletin yesterday that Arum knew all along that his No. 1 fighter just accepted a fight that was fraught with danger. “When Bob Arum and I negotiated the deal, he was very forthright right from the beginning that a rematch was an essential pat of the deal,” said DeGuardia. DeGuardia feels that Top Rank just wanted to protect its main draw in case something happens along the way. “When I first brought the fight idea to Bob, he always recognized that Chris was a great storyline in a fight against Manny, but that he was also very dangerous for Manny. As such, a rematch provision was something that I recognized was non-negotiable and fair and reasonable to give to Top Rank and Manny.” Algieri didn’t protest the inclusion of the contract option, according to DeGuardia. “When I was making the deal with Chris, I likewise let him know about the rematch and he had no problem with it.” Algieri, the heavy underdog going into the scheduled 12-rounder for Pcquiao’s World Boxing Organization welterweight title, DeGuardia believes a second meeting is bound to take place possibly in April or May of 2015. “Why not do it again after Chris does it on November 22 (US time)? We have absolutely no problem doing it twice.”