By Ronnie Nathanielsz

TOP Rank promoter Bob Arum is confident he will find a solution to the impasse over the revenue split in the scheduled May 2 Las Vegas showdown between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Britain’s Ricky Hatton.

In an overseas telephone conversation with www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Arum said: “We will find a solution. That is my promise to you. When we are involved in this type of a situation it very, very frankly becomes more ego than money. It takes time to massage everybody and get it done. But if I were a betting man, I would say it will happen before the end of this weekend.”

Arum said he couldn’t put a timetable on it exactly.

“It’s because obviously, I am interested in getting something done whenever I can get it done. But I don’t want to put myself under any kind of needless pressure by achieving a timetable. I am really confident that as far as Manny is concerned, this will absolutely guarantee his biggest purse ever and nobody is throwing away this kind of money on nonsense.”

Arum pointed out that Hatton brings to the game something that no other fighter in the world brings. “And that’s a shipload of money from English television. Wise guy Floyd Mayweather Jr. pushed and pushed and pushed and got a 60-40 deal and gave up the English television rights, sacrificed his share of $18 million.”

He said that while everybody in the Philippines were making statements, which he felt didn’t help, “fortunately, the Hatton people have been very reserved and [Richard] Schaefer has calmed them down. With a little bit more patience, a little more time and we’re going to get it resolved.”

Trainer Freddie Roach told Standard Today he feels Pacquiao deserves the money because he beat Oscar (de la Hoya). “I can’t complain about his 60-40 demand.”

But Roach added: “I’d hate to lose this fight because it is a very good fight for Manny style-wise. If Pacquiao doesn’t fight Hatton, there are not too many guys he can fight and he won’t get this kind of money with any other guy.”

He said he was hopeful they could meet in the middle somewhere, like they did in the negotiations for the De la Hoya fight in which an original 70-30 deal in favor of The Golden Boy was changed to 68-32.