By Michael Marley

ATLANTIC CITY–A birthday cake with 80 candles looms but Top Rank Head Honcho Bob Arum still has young ideas.

And, as his history shows us, when Arum gets one of his thinking outside the box ideas, they usually come to fruition.

So I wouldn’t bet against Pacmaniacs from far and wide swarming to the San Francisco Bay Area in March to see their Pinoy idol fighting at the baseball Giants downtown stadium, AT&T Park.

“It may happen,” Arum told Boxingconfidential.com as he counted down the remaining hours until his unbeaten middleweight Kelly Pavlik crossed gloves with Old Man of the Mountain Bernard Hopkins. “Manny would pack that ballpark. You’ve got a huge Filipino population in the Bay Area to begin with.”

As he’s discussed previously, Arum said that, before Pacquiao-De La Hoya coalesced into a firm deal and the Dec. 6 contracts were signed, he had lengthy discussions with Giants officials about staging a Pacman fight.

This will be good news for Boxingconfidential as I won’t have to dig deep for the private plane and vodka bills for Bay Area based John Chavez and Hermie Rivera. I guess I’d still have to underwrite their liquor tabs.

“We talked to the Giants about a lot of this even going so far as to go over seating charts and plans. If Manny could fight there, I’d say we would have to do it just before they open their home season.”

The Giants begin their 2009 season at home Tuesday, April 7, against the Milwaukee Brewers.

It’s even possible that such a Pacquiao fight might be against popular Brit Ricky Hatton because Arum said he sees no reason for Manny to go to the UK to battle the Mancunian.

I can hear the Giants p.a. man even now:

“Now batting, Manny Pacquiao!”