The upcoming boxing fights between Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey and Floyd Mayweather vs.unnamed opponent (Malignaggi?) will determine who among them will become this year’s pay-per-view king. The aborted Pacquiao-Mayweather boxing match could have set a new record in pay-per-view receipts in boxing history. In May 2007, the Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fight registered a total 2.15million pay-per-view buys with a dollar value of US$120 million. This record has not been broken until today making Oscar de la Hoya the reigning pay-per-view king. The highly anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather match which was recently aborted due to disagreement on blood testing protocol could have broken the PPV record of de la Hoya and set a new record for Pacquiao and Mayweather. In the upcoming Pacquiao and Mayweather fight against different opponents, PPV credits will go to the superior and popular boxer. In the case of Pacquiao vs. Clottey, much of the credit will go to Pacquiao being the popular opponent. Clottey’s PPV contribution to the overall revenue would be considered minimal. In the same manner, Mayweather and his opponent (posively Malignaggi) will definitely be the main attraction of the fight. He will in effect become the main PPV draw while his opponent will get a lesser credit. Depending on the degree of promotional efforts by the promoters of Pacquiao and Mayweather in their upcoming but separate fights, PPV will determine the popularity and drawing capacity of these boxers. Boxing’s past PPV attraction follows: 1. Oscar De La Hoya – $610.6 million on 12.6 million buys (18 events) 2. Mike Tyson – $545 million on 12.4 million buys (12 events) 3. Evander Holyfield – $543 million on 12.6 million buys (14 events) Based on revenues generated representing the number of events with PPV coverage, Oscar de la Hoya beats Tyson by US$65million and Holyfield by US$67million. Will Pacquiao or Mayweather beat de la Hoya as the reigning PPV king? Boxing fans could hardly wait for the answer.
