Despite all of the talk about how Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. need each other to ensure huge paydays, both fighters are in line to have a very profitable 2011.
Pacquiao, of course, is currently busy preparing for his November 12 bout versus Juan Manuel Marquez. However, given the precarious nature of promoting a fight that people aren’t especially excited about, he’ll be cutting his training camp in the Philippines short and heading back to the United States. There, he’ll hold the reminder of his training camp at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. – according to an interview Bob Arum gave to ESPN.com.
On the bright side, all signs point to Pacquiao being in ideal condition to whip on Marquez for a little bit, and then collect a handsome reward for his troubles.
"I spoke to Freddie the other day and he says Manny is looking amazing in training," Arum told ESPN.com.
"Manny was in good shape before Freddie got to the Philippines because he trained during the tour, so when Freddie got [to the Philippines], Manny could hit the gym running," Arum said. "And he'll be back in the U.S. five weeks ahead of the fight, when it's usually only four. So it's easier to promote when he is here. We have so much stuff that we are doing."
So, how much is Pacquiao slated to earn from this fight? Previous estimates indicated that the Filipino champion was looking at a minimum of $20 million guaranteed, before you even figure in the PPV cash that will likely push the totals into the $30 million range. Don’t forget, Arum has suggested that the PPV totals this time around could surpass the 1.3 million mark. And if all of that does come to fruition, and Marquez goes down in five rounds like many are anticipating, Pacquiao could be looking at about $4 million per round.
Not bad for a night’s work.
When you factor in the fact that Mayweather recently earned an eye-popping $40 million in that circus act of a fight against Ortiz, you begin to realize why fighting each other isn’t a huge priority for Pacquiao and Mayweather these days.
But hey, maybe people aren’t going to buy tickets to see Pacquiao throw Marquez a beating.
"Tickets are going slowly," Arum recently joked.
The truth is, as of this past Wednesday only four $900-level tickets were left for the fight. Those are no doubt gone at this point. Pacquiao, like his undefeated counterpart is a magical draw that can bring in a crowd fighting just about anyone.
Arum indicated that he expected the gate for the match would be somewhere in the $11.7 million range, which in turn would make it the ninth largest in Nevada history.
Remember when we wondered whether or not Pacquiao was having financial difficulties? Safe to say that’s probably no longer an issue.