By Ronnie Nathanielsz

THE lawyer of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said they haven?t signed the contract for the May 2 showdown against Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas on May 2.

Franklin ?Geng? Gacal spoke to www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports while en route to the Los Angeles airport with Pacquiao for the flight back to Manila. They are scheduled to arrive today aboard a Philippine Airlines fight.

?Everything is not yet settled. We are trying to improve the figures,? said Gacal, indicating they are looking for a better percentage on the revenue-sharing agreement, although Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told Standard Today earlier the Pacquiao people were ?quite happy with the offer.?

Gacal revealed that Pacquiao was meeting with some of his financial advisers before taking the flight to Manila.

Pacquiao, in recent years, has worked to straighten out his finances to go with a changed lifestyle from his earlier wild and wooly ways and a lack of proper management of his large income from a series of world title fights and non-title bouts. Individuals reportedly within his inner circle used to take advantage of his kindness, generosity and forgiving nature.

Meanwhile, in an unusual twist, stablemates Cassius Baloyi (36-3-1, 19 KOs) and Malcolm Klassen (23-4-2, 14 KOs) will battle each other in a highly anticipated International Boxing Federation junior lightweight title fight to be staged in April in South Africa.

Several sites have expressed interest in hosting the fight, but promoters Branco Milenkovic and Jacob Matlala are biding their time and looking to pick the best offer.

?The fight has generated huge interest in South African boxing circles and rightly so because it is not often that two South African fighters clash for a legitimate world title,? Matala said.

Boxing writer Mesuli Zifo noted that the fight will make history of sorts as it will be the first time even in local boxing circles that stablemates face each other while training under one trainer, Nick Durandt.

Durandt had initially refused to let Baloyi and Klassen fight, hoping that the former promoter of Baloyi, Rodney Berman, would arrange for his fighter go after another world title.

But when that didn?t happen, Zifo reported that Baloyi got so agitated he dumped Berman for Milenkovic, the World Boxing Council International Trainer of the Year and agreed to face Klassen as the IBF called for a purse bid.