By Frank (Frankly) Livingstone: Manny Pacquiao appeared on a Filipino television program last Sunday and revealed the following: During the negotiation, Mayweather told my team that he had to ask for a big share of the purse. “If I lost the fight, at least he (Pacquiao) is a congressman, But for me, boxing is my only livelihood.” That’s what he (Floyd) said.
If what Floyd said was true, then it would indeed explain the reason for his demand for a bigger slice of the purse. But this was not the reason given by Floyd during the Costa interview. Floyd insists that Manny does not deserve a 50:50 split because he thought that Manny lost the fight with Marquez while he totally dominated Marquez. This is his main argument.
For my part, Manny’s fight with Marquez could have gone either way but being the challenger, Marquez was not aggressive enough to dethrone Manny resulting to Manny winning by a unanimous decision. Following Floyd’s argument, his fight with Oscar De La Hoya could have gone either way but Floyd’s aggressive stance gave him a split decision victory while Manny totally dominated Oscar De La Hoya.
As for the PPV numbers, Floyd holds the record with Oscar De La Hoya of over 2 million. But then again, Oscar was the PPV king and a fight with an upcoming superstar justifies the record. It was the Oscar factor. Before his fight with Oscar, Floyd’s PPV numbers averaged around 300,000. After the Oscar fight, it jumped to over a million. But Floyd could only reach a maximum of 1.4 million PPV in his last 3 fights. Manny Pacquiao also experienced the Oscar factor as his PPV numbers skyrocketed to an average 1 million PPV after his fight with Oscar. Manny also reached a maximum of 1.4 million during his fight with Marquez.
So there is no argument that a 50:50 split is a reasonable outcome for both fighters. But recently, Manny has expressed his desire to receive smaller slice of the purse as long as the PPV revenue is split evenly. This is better than the previous 55:45 offer with the 10% bonus going to the winner. The offer guarantees Floyd a bigger slice, win or lose.
I tip my hat off for Manny for being the bigger man (for a lil fella) in this case, just to make the fight happen. Manny has agreed to the ODST and now has no problem getting the smaller share of the purse.
Manny could indeed look forward to a life after boxing as a politician, actor, singer and a bible preacher. For Floyd, boxing is his livelihood and father time is fast catching up.
We could only hope that with this latest offer from Manny, Floyd would finally step up and give the fight the fans wanted. But then again, Cotto and Bradley stand in the way….and the saga continues.
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