When Manny Pacquiao fights the legendary Oscar De La Hoya on December 6 in Las Vegas, the boxing icon will have surpassed a threshold that lives only in the dreams of nearly every Filipino: He becomes the first Filipino athlete to earn more than a billion pesos from his sport.
Other than perhaps the country?s taipans and their heirs, no Filipino could possibly earn that much. Even more astonishing, Pacquiao earned it in so short a time ? less than eight years.
From a paltry $ 40,000 purse in June 2001 when he made his American debut to the $ 3 million he earned in dismantling David Diaz, Pacquiao has amassed over $ 20,000,000 ($ 950 million at P45 to a dollar) in ring earnings.
Then add the $ 15 million that he is almost guaranteed to earn from the De La Hoya fight and his earnings will surpass the billion-peso threshold.
But hold on, this mind-boggling amount does not include his earnings from his commercial endorsements nearly all of them signed and sealed in strict confidence.
Among his biggest clients are Nike and San Miguel Corporation. He has also endorsed Motolite, No Fear, Alaxan, Philippine Airlines, Smart and Extreme Magic Sing, among others.
Figures earned from the television broadcast of his fights and other TV shows are also not included.
From these extras, add perhaps another P500 million.
Needless to say, Pacquiao?s income easily surpasses those of other Filipino professionals such as Efren “Bata” Reyes, golfers Frankie Mi?oza, and Jennifer Rosales and top basketball players, most of whom haven?t probably gotten past the P50 million mark.
Pacquiao?s bank account is expected to enjoy another wild ride once the fight against De La Hoya is over.
His handlers and managers are talking about breaking record in pay-per-view sales of which De La Hoya has a knack for setting new marks
While the boxers and their respective promoters have declined to say exactly how much each fighter is going to get, Pacquiao stands to earn at least $ 15 million and as much as $ 20 million since pay-per-view sales are expected to surpass the 1 million mark.
“That would be a good projection assuming we exceed 1.5 million PPV buys,” said Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal.
And just when you thought that that?s already huge, there?s a possibility that Pacquiao will get a windfall since lawyer Gacal wants to include in the official fight contract a specific stipulation regarding the weight.
“We demanded $ 3 million for every pound or fraction in excess of 147 lbs. We can?t afford to give De La Hoya too much weight advantage with the height and reach advantage that he already has,” said Gacal.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum sees PPV buys to go past two million and won?t be surprised if this breaks the 2.4 million buys generated when De La Hoya fought Floyd Mayweather in 2007.
It was analyst extraordinaire Larry Merchant of HBO who came up with the idea of pitting De La Hoya and Pacquiao in November last year and while it looked like a gross mismatch owing to the weight difference, it slowly gained interest and by the start of 2008, it already looked like legitimate match up.
There were a few factors that greased the path towards its realization and one of them was how De La Hoya was agitated and challenged by a remark from somebody he had liked once.
During yesterday?s international teleconference call, De La Hoya said he was hurt when trainer Freddie Roach told scribes recently that he can no longer pull the trigger.
“When people started talking, when people started saying Manny can beat me and Freddie started talking, it started to become a challenge. These are the kinds of events that get me fired up,” said De La Hoya, who has agreed to get down to welterweight (147 lbs) to meet the Filipino star and with both boxers using 8 oz gloves.
Roach trained De La Hoya for the Mayweather bout and while they parted ways as friends after De La Hoya lost, it didn?t occur to the Golden Boy that Roach would talk badly about him.
“I am older, I am bigger and he?s younger and the pound-for-pound champion. But when people started saying ?Manny can beat you, Manny can knock you out? and Freddie Roach started saying, ?Oscar can?t pull the trigger anymore?, it started to become a challenge to me. And now, it?s very personal, especially when Manny Pacquiao beats all the legendary Mexican fighters. To me, it?s a challenge, especially because people are talking that Manny Pacquiao can beat me. We?ll see Dec. 6,” said De La Hoya, who holds a 39-5-0 win-loss-draw record with 30 knockouts.
Pacquiao, who turns 30 on Dec. 17, is unfazed.
“I am faster and stronger than him and younger,” said Pacquiao, who started out as a light-flyweight (108 lbs) in 1995 but who has so far won world titles at flyweight (112 lbs), super-bantam (122), super-feather (130) and lightweight (135).
“Manny Pacquiao is considered the best fighter in boxing today and I always want to fight the best. I am glad we were able to make this fight happen because while Pacquiao is at the pinnacle of his success and has defeated all of the top fighters he has faced, I am going to show the world that it stops with me. Dec. 6 can?t get here soon enough,” said De La Hoya, who captured world titles at super-feather, lightweight, super-light (140 lbs), welter, super-welter (154) and middle (160).
“I felt challenged, especially from an expert trainer who trained me and trains Manny. He knows my style and knows Manny. If he thinks I can?t pull the trigger, we?ll see.”
Pacquiao is aware of the magnitude of the fight that will be held before a sure sell-out crowd at the 17,157-seat Grand Garden Arena.
“This is my greatest challenge,” said Pacquiao, who parades a 47-3-2 slate with 35 knockouts. “When I take that walk to the ring to fight Oscar, I will carry all the people of the Philippines ? the entire country ? on my shoulders.”
Arum said there?s no stipulation in the contract that mandates a rematch although anything can happen in boxing.
Manny Pacquiao
Earnings Since June, 2001
$ 40,000 ? Versus Lehlo Ledwaba (South Africa), June 21, 2001, Las Vegas, Nevada
$ 120,000 ? Versus Agapito Sanchez (Dominican Republic), Nov. 11, 2001, San Francisco, California
P10 million ? Versus Fabbrakob Rakkiatgym (Thailand), Oct. 26, 2002, Davao
P1 million ? Versus Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov (Kazakhstan), March 15, 2003, Taguig
$ 70,000 ? Versus Jorge Julio (Colombia), June 8, 2002, Memphis, Tennessee
$ 500,000 ? Versus Marco Antonio Barrera (Mexico), Nov. 15, 2003, San Antonio, Texas
$ 750,000 ? Versus Juan Manuel Marquez (Mexico), May 8, 2004 Las Vegas
P3 million ? Versus Fahsan 3K Battery (Thailand), Dec. 11, 2004, Manila
$ 1.75 million ? Versus Erik Morales (Mexico), March 19, 2005, Las Vegas
$ 750,000 ? Versus Hector Velazquez (Mexico), Sept. 10, 2005, Los Angeles, California
$ 2 million ? Versus Erik Morales, January 21, 2006, Las Vegas
$ 1 million ? Versus Oscar Larios (Mexico), July 2, 2006, Quezon City
$ 2.25 million ? Versus Erik Morales, Nov. 18, 2006, Las Vegas
$ 2 million ? Versus Jorge Solis (Mexico), April 14, 2007, San Antonio
$ 3 million ? Versus Marco Antonio Barrera, Oct. 6, 2007, Las Vegas
$ 3 million ? Versus Juan Manuel Marquez, March 15, 2008, Las Vegas
$ 3 million ? Versus David Diaz (US), June 28, 2008, Las Vegas
