WBC orders Pacquiao to pay $30,000 or lose title

Cheng Du: Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao may be stripped of his World Boxing Council lightweight title if he does not fork out $30,000 within the next 15 days, the WBC said on Thursday.

The boxing body's governors, who are meeting in Cheng Du, are demanding the fighter pay sanctioning fees they say he owes, or they will take his belt.

"Manny Pacquiao is a great champion and the pride of the WBC. But he believes he is the ruler of the organisation and that is not going to happen," WBC President Jose Sulaiman said.

"If he doesn't want to do it, he goes his way and we go our way. He has made a fortune with the WBC. He became famous fighting WBC Champions like Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and now he's trying to kick us in the back and send us home. We cannot do that.

"I am very disappointed because he's a friend, he is the hero of President Arroyo and of the whole country of the Philippines, and I feel very bad because of the way that we've been treated. But the phone is there and the door is open."

Pacquiao must pay $100,000 within 15 days of his fight against Oscar De La Hoya scheduled for December 6, or face the same punishment, the WBC said.