Manny Pacquiao reportedly has finally signed the deal to fight Ricky Hatton on May 2, 2009 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Manny accepted the slight advantage in the sharing of the PPV proceeds at 52-48 with a P12 million guarantee.

The statesmanlike value in Manny has finally surfaced just to satisfy millions and millions of boxing fans worldwide who would want to see the number one pound-for-pound king slug it out with the British boxing idol.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer allegedly agreed on a 50-50 sharing scheme without consulting the Filipino boxing hero. This irritated Manny’s camp as he was not conferred with the even split. Manny just wanted some respect, he being the biggest draw in boxing after the convincing win over Oscar de la Hoya.

Hatton (45-1, 32 KO’s), the Ring Magazine and International Boxing Organization (IBO) world junior welterweight champion, would defend his titles against Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 KO’s), now without a title, but the world’s number one boxer in all categories by the authoritative Ring Magazine ranking.

[ Via PhilBoxing ]