By John F. McKenna (McJack): A few weeks ago when World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s) was attempting to lure WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KO’s) into the ring with him he stated that he would be willing to take a smaller piece of the pie to make the fight happen.
To say in advance that you are willing to take a smaller cut and sacrifice millions of dollars in the biggest money fight of all time does not make good business sense, particularly when it is “Money” Mayweather that you are dealing with. To make such a huge concession even before negotiations have begun is a huge mistake. It opens the door for numerous concessions in the difficult negotiations to come.
Apparently Manny has come to his senses and when Mayweather called him a few days ago he told him he would demand a 50/50 split in the revenue from the live gate and from the Pay Per View (PPV) buys. Mayweather as expected responded by saying that a 50/50 split was impossible.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said that the Pacquiao camp would require a 50/50 split before negotiations could continue. Arum in outlining why Pacquiao deserves a 50/50 split of the revenue for a Pacquiao – Mayweather fight was quoted in The Wall Street Journal saying the following:
“Mayweather and his people are completely irrational. Pacquiao has the highest gates, highest PPV numbers, brings in more high rollers to Vegas, and he is supposed to take less than 50%? Never.”
In addition to Arum’s comments, Pacquiao won “Fighter of the Year” on three occasions and “Fighter of the Decade” for the years from 2000 to 2009. Pacquiao also is the only boxer in history to win world championships in eight different divisions. Mayweather himself was seen on video in 2007 stating that he loved watching Pacquiao fight, adding that he is an “extraordinary fighter.”
In explaining why the fight can’t happen on May 5th, Arum said that the cable arrangements could not be completed in time and the temporary outdoor stadium would not be done by then. The seating capacity of the outdoor stadium will be around 45,000 and will bring in approximately an additional thirty to forty million dollars in revenue.
Arum went on to say that he is confident that a change in date could be made in the May 5th date that Mayweather reserved for the MGM Grand. The original argument Mayweather’s attorneys used to delay the date he would report to jail from January 6 to June 1 was that Las Vegas would benefit from the amount of money brought in for the fight. It is quite clear however that the revenue for a fight later in May with a 45,000 seat stadium would far surpass the current seating in the MGM Grand Arena and bring in far more money to Las Vegas than a May 5 fight.
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