Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao remains popular among boxing fans and still regarded as a typical promoter’s cash cow despite his two successive defeats in the hands of rivals Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. In most cases, fighters coming off successive defeats would suffer a sharp dive in popularity ratings that normally equate to a drastic cut in purse sharing with an equally popular opponent. But in the case of Pacquiao, his usual purse of over $20 million per fight seems to be holding as Bob Arum, his promoter, has not demanded a drastic cut in Pacquiao’s purse for his upcoming October scheduled fight on account of his defeats. Arum knows that Pacquiao, being a popular and entertaining fighter, brings to the table the bulk of revenue that is needed for a financially viable fight. For many years, Pacquiao has remained a pay-per-view (PPV) star that averages no less than a million PPV buys per fight, along with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, Jr. One of the reasons Pacquiao remains popular even after losing twice in a row last year, is the manner in which he lost to his opponents. In his fight with unbeaten Palm Springs star Timothy Bradley in June last year, fans shared the findings of a five-man fact-finding panel on the judges’ controversial verdict. In an effort to ascertain who really won the fight, WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel asked five seasoned boxing judges to review the video of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight. Valcarcel said the five judges all voted for Pacquiao as the winner. Read more. In the case of his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December, Pacquiao was winning in judges’ scorecards when he ran into Marquez unobstructed power shot in the dying seconds of the sixth round. After the fight, Marquez acknowledged that he could be finished at anytime. “I threw a perfect punch,” Marquez said. “I knew Manny could knock me out at any time.” In both fights, fans believe Pacquiao did a good job but lady luck did not go his way. Some people attribute his loss to a number of events that came his way while preparing for the fights, including training distractions and even his change in religious beliefs and practices. While his last two fights ended in a loss, Pacquiao remains popular among boxing fans mainly because of the way his fights ended and how he accepts the judge’s verdict without excuses.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/348643#ixzz2RKQnvu8H
