Since Manny Pacquiao became a household name in boxing, his pay per view (PPV) appeal has gone from above average to being the top attraction that he is today.
He has not gone below the 700,000 PPV sales mark since his breakthrough fight with Oscar de la Hoya in 2008.
That career defining fight introduced Pacquiao into the mainstream American media which eventually made him a certified crossover star in the land of everything that represents the best and worst of capitalism.
Pacquiao is only the fourth boxer in the brief history of PPV tickets to sell at least 1.25 million PPVs in a single fight in which he was the main attraction, not the B-side of a fight card. He did it when he fought Miguel Angel Cotto in November 2009.
The only other three boxers who sold more PPVs than Manny are de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson ? all American boxing superstars.
Pacquiao?s last fight, against Antonio Margarito, generated at least 1.12 million PPVs. Considering that both fighters are non-American fighting before an American audience during a crises-laden economy, that fight is a certified box office hit.
Sunday?s fight against Mosley will again prove Manny?s tremendous drawing power and PPV appeal.
With television giant CBS throwing its support behind the Showtime cable fare, a sister company, Sunday?s marquee match up promises to be another sleeper.
Anything that has Pacquiao in it is going to sell. What remains to be seen and is how much PPV will his Mosley fight sell?
Mosley as the B-side of a Pacquiao fight is both an interesting and intriguing fight. An ageing veteran whose skills might have diminished but still has some pop in his punches. He is a regular B-side PPV guy who has fought with the likes of de la Hoya and Mayweather. He is durable and best of all an American.
Underdog image aside, Mosley as an opponent has all the ingredients to break all previous Pacquiao-headlined PPV card.
He has the better name recall than Cotto and Margarito whom both Pacquiao carried in a fight card. Mosley has better skills sets than Cotto and Margarito and he twice defeated de la Hoya and stopped Margarito, his best quality performance over the last three years.
The things going against him however are his age and good guy image.
But with the best fight out there ? the Pacquiao-Mayweather fantasy fight still in fantasy ? the Mosley deal may be the best fight available for Manny for this year.
Boxing aficionados will surely not miss this one and this should not fall behind the PPV numbers of Pacquiao-Margarito fight.
If the CBS-exposure could bring in additional 250,000 buys, Pacquiao is on target to break his own PPV record, the 1.25 million buys in his Cotto fight.
Anything in between is acceptable but not quite a hit. Dropping below the million buy mark will be a major disappointment.
My guess is that it will top the 1.3 million buys.
Well, guesses are guesses and until the numbers are in, we can only hold our breath.
