For the second time, Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight Australian Jeff Horn in welterweight world title in Brisbane on July 2.
The Filipino legend’s camp is on the verge of signing off on the deal, according to his promoter Bob Arum.
“We’re slowly finishing up the deal to fight,” Arum told the Los Angeles Times.
“People have agreed on essential points.”
Arum last week gave Pacquiao a deadline to declare his intentions to fight Horn, who has endured three months of confusion and frustration since their original April bout was announced in January.
The original fight agreement fell through as Pacquiao unsuccessfully chased a lucrative bout with former sparring partner Amir Khan in the United Arab Emirates.
The venue for July 2 remains unconfirmed, but the 52,000-seat Suncorp Stadium in Horn’s hometown of Brisbane is the likely option.
“Paperwork takes time, particularly when it’s not the usual thing of getting it done in the United States,” Arum said.
“We’re dealing with an Australian promoter, the (Queensland) state government.
“Here, in this case, you’ve got to cross the ‘T’s and dot the ‘I’s, and that’s what we’re in the process of doing.”
The fight’s promoters in Australia, Duco Events, never conceded the Horn-Pacquiao bout was off the table.
As well as a dream match-up for welterweight Horn, the fight would be the biggest in Australian boxing history.
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