Pacquiao in Vancouver? “Not in this lifetime”

The recent detente between Golden Boy and Top Rank will be good for boxing in the long run, but bad for Vancouver in the short term.

Because Oscar De La Hoya finally kissed and made nice with the “Bobfather” (as certain websites have dubbed Bob Arum), it means that we can look forward to a Manny Pacquiao-Marco Antonio Barrera rematch. A fight many don’t want to see, but a fight that I won’t rule out Barrera winning just yet.

However, this means that the big time plans of the small time (apparantly) promoters in Vancouver will have to be put on the shelf for now, and thoughts of any kind of a mega fight in Vancouver (?) put out of our crazy silly heads.  Barrera-Pacquiao will take place in Las Vegas, where it will sell out in a matter of minutes, while poor old Humberto Soto will have to cool his jets waiting for his big fight.

I knew it was too good to be true. Still, Vancouver will have two professional boxing cards in the next four months, which is two more than we have had in the last six years. I’ll take that, and if it means developing local fighters with a viable audience and getting their names out there in the Canadian boxing scene, it’s good enough for me.

One Two Three Punch. Vancouver a fight town again.

It must be something in the water, but Vancouver has become a fight town again. After a six year drought, the city is set to host three professional fight cards in the next four months.

RUMBLE AT THE ROCK

Former IBO light middleweight champion Manny Sobral is first out of the gate with his new boxing series “Rumble at the Rock” which will kick off July 21 with a card headlined by former Olympian light heavyweight Egerton Marcus and rising young heavyweight prospect Shane Andreesen. Marcus, who is now fighting under the name Egerton Emba, has not had a fight since 2001, when he lost to Donovan “Razor” Ruddock for the Canadian heavyweight title. Andreesen, who has just been signed to Banner Promotions, will be featured on the undercard of the Jose-Luis Castillo-Ricky Hatton show in Las Vegas this weekend. The “Rumble at the Rock” will be Andreesen’s Canadian debut.

Rounding out the card will be local fighters Kevin Reynolds, Andy Mavros, Paul Tryl, Louis Sargeant and Darren Darby.

Richmond’s River Rock Casino will be the site of the event.

THE NEW GENERATION

Local coach and promoter Kevin Howard is planning a show featuring the next generation of West Coast fighters on September 27 under his Double Jab Promotions banner. The card, which will be held in the heart of Vancouver’s eastside, will feature a pair of Nigerian-Canadian brothers, Jegbefumere “Bone” Albert and Albert Onolunose, who have been making names for themselves in the past year in Western Canada, as well as other talented Vancouver based fighters working their way up the boxing ladder.

WHAT DO MANNY PACQUIAO, THE TV SHOW “STARGATE” AND THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS HAVE IN COMMON?

The Fight Network has learned that the consortium that is hoping to bring the Pinoy sensation Manny Pacquiao to Vancouver consists of a Hollywood producer with ties to HBO, a real estate mogul and the family that owns both the Vancouver Canucks and GM Place, the venue for the fight.

Geoffrey Hughes is a local developer and former realtor who has banded together with film and television producer Michael Greenburg for the rumoured Manny Pacquiao-Humberto Soto fight on October 6. Greenburg, in addition to being Sharon Stone’s ex-husband, was one of the producers on the locally lensed TV series “Stargate”, and partners with star Richard Dean Anderson. Greenberg also happens to be the brother of HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg. Greenburg and Hughes have penciled in the fight at GM Place, renting it from Francesco Aquilini, the owner of both the arena and the Vancouver Canucks.

The Vancouver area is home to over 100,000 Filipinos, making the 20,000 seat GM Place an easy sell out for the promoters and the event will surely to put a smile on Top Rank’s Bob Arum’s already Cheshire cat like puss, especially after his success at the fabled Madison Square Gardens last week. All the pieces of the puzzle are in place for a great night, now it just needs to be determined who Pacquiao belongs to. Negotiations pertaining to the contractual disagreements between Top Rank and Golden Boy are continuing in Los Angeles this week and a formal fight announcement could be made upon the completion of those discussions. Until then, the fight is just a rumour swirling around the city like an action packed raindrop.

When it rains, it pours. Especially in Vancouver.

THE FUTURE OF JEAN FRANCOIS BERGERON

Jean-Francois Bergeron has been a professional fighter for almost ten years. His record is an impressive 26-0, with 19 knockouts. He is a bona fide born and bred Quebecois heavyweight. He is also a certified member of the crop of boxers who are currently benefiting from the exposure that the recent boxing renaissance has created in Montreal. And on Friday night, his future in the ring will perhaps be decided in the course of one fight.

NGOUDJO, PASCAL, STEVENSON FEATURED ON ESPN’S FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

ESPN’s Joe Tessitore has nothing but good things to say about Canada lately, waxing poetic in his latest column on the glories of maple syrup, beaver tails and our national anthem.

But what he is truly excited about, and what we as Canadians should be even more excited about is what is going on right now in boxing in Montreal.

And what is going on is that on Friday night, three more Montreal based fighters are poised to explode out of Canada and into the American boxing consciousness. And if their performances are anything like Adrian Diaconu’s on ESPN2 a few weeks ago, then the Americans are probably going to want to open a Montreal office and start learning French.