I don’t know why some things need to be so damn complicated.
The deal of boxing doesn’t need to have all the intricacies of a merger involving two or three failing financial institutions.
There’s no need for 36 laywers, 23 accountants, and 47 administrative assistants to file, staple, and fetch water for the lawyers and accountants.
All we need is for some clear, concise, level-headed mongrels to involve themselves within the negotiation.
This is where yours truly comes into play…
No reason to bullshit around, let’s jump right into it.
Let us take a look at Manny Pacquiao’s most recent purse split with that of a certain fellow nicknamed “The Hitman”.
From all accounts, the “Pacman” took the lion’s share of the fight pot raking in 52 percent of the total amount. The guaranteed amount for Pacquiao to receive was a reported $12 million. That was a guaranteed minimum not including a Pay-Per-View upside.
Not bad for a man who once was forced to wipe his ass with his hands…
Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton brought an extremely large amount of financial backing to the table in terms of live gate contingent as well as the United Kingdom Pay-Per-View market. (We must remember that Hatton-Mayweather drew over 1.4 million Pay-Per-View buys in the UK.)
Being that Pacquiao still received the lion’s share of the pot regardless of Hatton’s built in following, one must truly decipher what Shane Mosley brings to the table to warrant a specific percentage.
Here is a set of questions that I would ask should I sit on the Pacquiao side…
What kind of live gate following does Shane Mosley bring to the table?
Looking at his most recent four fights it’d seem to be limited at best.
In February of 2007, Mosley played the “A” side to his bout with Luis Collazo that drew a maximum of several thousand spectators within the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The crowd was beyond scarce to say the least.
Against Miguel Cotto, it was Cotto and not Mosley who packed Madison Square Garden to the rafters as the Boricua contingent showed strong support as they always do. If you really would like to give Mosley credit for the fight being a sellout, then you probably would argue that Joshua Clottey and Zab Judah were responsible for the huge crowds at the Garden when they squared off against Miguel. Don’t be stupid, please.
In 2008, Mosley would square off against Ricardo Mayorga at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. This is considered Mosley’s backyard and the turnout was miserable to say the least. The tennis stadium’s capacity is less than ten thousand and the turnout was less than half of that to be generous. Mosley clearly showed his inability to draw on his own name recognition.
Either that or his promoter just didn’t do put enough proper marketing into the bout to make it noticeable.
Earlier this year, “Sugar” would face off against the newly crowned “King of the Mexicans” in Antonio Margarito. If anyone thinks that Mosley is responsible for the sellout crowd at the Staples Center, they should probably park next to a cliff and hit the gas pedal hard and fast. Once again… don’t be stupid.
If I am part of Team Pacquiao and was able to negotiate the lion’s share against a fellow with the strongest live gate following the sport has seen in recent times, there is no way that I am not deducting Mosley for his inability to get any sort of predictable crowd support. I’d knock off 8 percent simply due to the fact that Shane cannot draw flies to… rancid bananas.
Current breakdown: Manny 60/Shane 40
Next question… what kind of UK-based Pay-Per-View figures can Mosley bring to the table?
Nothing even remotely close to that of a Ricky Hatton.
Once again… we negotiated 52 percent against a guy that is virtually guaranteed to bring tens of millions of dollars via the overseas Pay-Per-View market. It’s mandatory to dock Mosley down once again for his inability to draw any significant, guaranteed revenue overseas.
Chop another 5 percent.
Current breakdown: Manny 65/Shane 35
Now it’s time to look at domestic Pay-Per-View figures…
Mosley’s most recent Pay-Per-View bout took place against Miguel Cotto in November 2007. The event drew a solid number of 350,000 in an inflated economy.
Pacquiao’s most recent Pay-Per-View bout took place against Ricky Hatton in May of this year. The event drew an elevated figure of 815,000 in what is and was considered a miserable economic situation.
Yes, Pacquiao benefitted immensely from the four-part 24/7 countdown series in addition to his exposure of beating down Oscar De la Hoya. Nevertheless, the numbers don’t lie and at this very moment, Pacquiao seems to have the clear edge in terms of being a Pay-Per-View draw by a signficant amount.
Being that the domestic figures account for such a large amount of the purse for most major events, one would have to think that Manny deserves the much larger percentage of the pie based on this and his ability to draw in the viewers with his exciting, non-clinch style of fighting.
Chop another 10 percent.
Current breakdown: Manny 75/Shane 25
What’s that I hear? It’s not fair?
Well… you got me there. Let’s be fair and as Team Pacquiao, I am offering Shane Mosley the same percentage that Bernard Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions offered Tomas Adamek earlier this year.
How’s that for fair?
