Updates on Pacquiao VS Mayweather JR

Pacquiao-Cotto pay-per-view buys to reach 2 million?

Manny Pacquiao’s historic win over Miguel Cotto could also post record number of buys in pay-per-view. AP

MANILA, Philippines - The recent welterweight megafight between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Puerto Rican WBO champion Miguel Cotto is expected to generate close to 2 million pay-per-view buys.

“They’re very good,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum in an interview with Boxingtalk.com., referring to the PPV figures. “Yeah, it’s well over one million but I really don’t know. It will be somewhere north of one million.”

Rey Colón of the “El Vocero” of Puerto Rico reported that the fight, which Pacquiao won via a convincing 12th round TKO, made approximately two million pay-per-view buys generating at least $120 million in revenues.

No word on what Pacquiao´s cut will be but Cotto was mentioned to be making at least $10 million. (Related story on Page 21)

Pacquiao had a guaranteed purse of $13 million in the Cotto fight.Arum has earlier indicated that he had “pretty much the final numbers” for Puerto Rico alone which he said “set a record” by surpassing the previous record of 80,000 for the Felix “Tito” Trinidad-Oscar De La Hoya fight.

He also guessed that the Pacquiao-Cotto duel, billed as Firepower and which drew 16,200 fans at the MGM Grand Arena, did a little bit more than 110,000, adding that the fight would do around 1.3 million although he said there were no numbers from New York, Pennsylvania and California, which are big points.

In an interview with Boxingscene.com, Arum, however, said that he had the figures for San Diego and Hawaii “which were good numbers.”

Arum recalled that the Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight last year did 1.25 million buys and in the East “so far we are doing 40 percent better and in the West we are doing about 10 percent less.”

Arum also said that “we are happy because we did well over a million homes and I think it will be closer to 1.5 million.”

There were keen interests on the number of PPV buys for the Pacquiao-Cotto fight since this will weigh heavily on the negotiations for the potential blockbuster fight between Pacquiao against the unbeaten Mayweather.

For one, Arum said he would wait for the final result of the PPV before making a move to negotiate with the Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Mayweather.

Even Mayweather Jr., who the world wants to be Pacquiao’s next opponent, has admitted that the Pacquiao-Cotto fight should do more buys than his bout with Juan Manuel Marquez which posted 1.1 million.

“I’ve done over a million homes by myself. Now we got Pacquiao and Cotto, two guys who have a pretty cool fan base, so if they do more homes than Mayweather, more power to them, but they supposed to. I don’t have no dance partner,” said Mayweather Jr. in an interview with Sky Sports. – Dante Navarro

From: Philippine Star Newspaper

(The Philippine Star) Updated November 19, 2009 12:00 AM

Will Floyd Mayweathered JR join Pacmans collection?

Clamor mounts for Pacquiao vs Mayweather

HOLLYWOOD – There’s only one fight to be made, and it’s the fight the whole world wants to see.

That’s Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. Nothing else.

More than 24 hours after turning Miguel Cotto’s face into a bloody Halloween mask, the 30-year-old Filipino megastar ruled out a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, and that leaves him with probably no other option but to face Mayweather next.

It’s the fight that people have started talking about way ahead of last Satuday’s Pacquio-Cotto blockbuster, and in the days, weeks or months to come, how to put up the fight that should break all existing records will remain the big question.

Meanwhile, in an interview with CNN late last night, Mayweather said he is ready to make the big money fight with Pacquiao, saying “if he wants to fight all he has to do is step up to the plate”.

During last September’s press tour for Pacquiao and Cotto, the Filipino boxer, who just won an unprecedented seventh world crown in seven different weight divisions, said if he and Mayweather win their respective fights, which they both did, then it should be a go.

Pacquiao said if it happens, he could get around $25 in guaranteed purse. For the Cotto fight, he got $12 million, but may end up with close to $20 million once everything comes in. A fight with Mayweather will dwarf all his previous earnings for a single fight.

Mayweather beat Marquez last September, and Pacquiao stopped Cotto late in the 12th and final round the other night in Las Vegas. If this fight happens, these two pound-for-pound champions can fill any arena even if the fight is held in Antarctica.

“If it’s Marquez, no one’s gonna come to watch the fight,” said Pacquiao in the middle of a five-hour trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. He and his entourage of more than 50 people were back in the City of Angels past midnight of Sunday.

Pacquiao did not elaborate on the possibility of making the fight against Mayweather, but in last Saturday’s post-fight press conference said it should be all up to his promoter, Bob Arum, and those representing the flamboyant American, whoever they are.

Up to now, many believe that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight won’t happpen because of one huge problem, and that’s how they would split the purse. Mayweather wants the bigger share, and Pacquiao wants nothing less either.

Arum said not even a 50-50 split would be fair for Pacquiao, regarded as the greatest boxer in the planet today, and one that can generate all the attention whoever he faces, wherever the fight is held.

Or Mayweather, the only undefeated superstar in boxing today, can dodge the fight by asking for the moon, and face lesser opponents, make millions just the same and preserve his clean slate.

“I think he doesn’t want to fight me,” said Pacquiao.

But in boxing, money talks. And in the end, everybody will listen.

“There’s so much money on the table they should be able to figure things out,” said the great trainer, and boxing analyst Emmanuel Steward after Pacquiao’s sensational and historic win over Cotto.

“This is what the public wants to happen,” he added.

The Pacquiao-Cotto 12-rounder should exceed the one million pay-per-view buys of the Mayweather-Marquez. And if Pacquiao vs Mayweather becomes a reality, then the giant cable network can look at something that could break the all-time record of 2.5 buys for the Mayweather vs Dela Hoya.

The New York Times has started drumming up a Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, and even suggested that the fight be held at the New Yankee Stadium as early as May.

But it may not be a good date because Pacquiao is running for elections on the same month back home. One more thing, Arum said Pacquiao may never get to fight in New York because of tax matters.

The Times’ Greg Bishop talked to Ross Greenburg and quoted the president of HBO Sports as saying, “I get chills just thinking about it. The reality is there’s only one fight to be made. We’ve waited a long time to get one of this magnitude.”

Top Rank’s matchmaker, Bruce Trampler, said, “No matter who Manny fights right now, he’s going to draw a big crowd. That’s the difference between these guys. Floyd needs a Manny. He needs a De La Hoya, a Hatton. And that’s no disrespect to Floyd. But one guy is an attraction and the other is a good draw.”

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star) Updated November 17, 2009 12:00 AM