Pacquiao Making Big Bucks From PPV

By Rey Danseco

WORLD Boxing Council (WBC) international super featherweight champ Manny Pacquiao will have additional money guaranteed $3 million (P149 million) purse in his concluded rubber match against Erik Morales.

Pacquiao is entitled to $3.5 million (about P174 million) as the 20 percent share from the record-breaking $17.5 million in revenue from estimated 350,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys, according to HBO, of their third fight last Nov. 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The total revenue was the highest grossing lighter-weight fight in HBO PPV's history since 1991.

Pacquiao knocked Morales out in the last three second mark of the third round to win the trilogy 2-1.

Mark Taffet of the HBO PPV said Pacquiao’s share will probably rise after the buys are fully counted. Morales also entitled for the same share of Pacquiao but he has only has guaranteed $2.75 million purse.

Taffet added that the Pacquiao-Morales trilogy generated 1,060,000 buys and $49.4 million in PPV revenue.

The first bout in March 2005 where Morales won via unanimous decision generated 350,000 buys and $15.7 million in television revenue. The January rematch where Pacquiao stopped Morales in the 10th round did 360,000 buys and $16.2 million.

The third fight sold in retail prize of $49.95 and the second fight was priced at $44.95 to generate more revenue compare the second encounter.

"We're very pleased with the performance of Pacquiao-Morales 3. It was a very exciting fight for boxing fans. [It] was the highest-grossing fight we've ever had in the lighter weight classes and concluded a memorable trilogy in which over one million buys and nearly $50 million of [pay-per-view] revenue was generated by the two fighters," said Taffet.

The two fights this year of Morales and Pacquiao helped HBO PPV to earn the second biggest income in 2006 with overall 11 cards. Sales totaled 3.7 million buys and approximately $177 million.

It is only behind the revenue made in 1999, which had four big bouts featuring the two Lennox Lewis-Evander Holyfield bouts and Oscar De La Hoya fights against Felix Trinidad and Ike Quartey.

One of the huge fights this year was between Oscar De La Hoya and Ricardo Mayorga, which did 925,000 buys and $46.2 million. The other seven cards generated between 325,000 and 425,000 buys.