Manny Pacquiao next fight: more Chinese boxers on undercard after Tencent snub Lucas Matthysse bout in Kuala Lumpur
Filipino world champion is looking at a potential US$1 billion market in China for his future fights
Manny Pacquiao reportedly missed out on a China broadcast windfall after internet giant Tencent pulled out of his Kuala Lumpur fight with Lucas Matthysse at the eleventh hour – but his management company has vowed not to make the same mistake when he fights again.
The Filipino boxer is most likely to step back in the ring in November, and more Chinese fighters are expected to fill the undercard.
Arnold Vegafria, Pacquiao’s business manager and business head of his management company MP Promotions, said he was stunned to receive a call two days before the July 15 fight against Matthysse telling him there was no official television or online coverage of the fight in China.
“I was so disappointed with the [unnamed Malaysian] agency,” Vegafria told the South China Morning Post. “I got a call from China saying there was no broadcast for pay-per-view or OTT [Over The Top online broadcast].
“We were talking to Tencent but they turned it down at the last minute. There was a miscommunication with the marketing agency we hired in Malaysia. They did not deliver.
