MANILA, Philippines – On paper, before taxes and all the other deductions, Manny Pacquiao can get as much as $25 million for his recent fight against Antonio Margarito.
?It could be between $20 million to $25 million,? Pacquiao?s promoter, Bob Arum, told The STAR over the phone on Thursday.
?But at least $20 million,? added the ageless promoter who should be as happy as his prized fighter.
In pesos, it would amount to close to a billion, which should be enough to buy a hundred F430 Ferraris.
Again, on paper, Pacquiao could earn close to $2 million or P86 million for each of the 12 rounds against the proud Mexican warrior.
That would also translate to $694,000 per minute or $11,574 per second. Or $52,742 for each of the 474 punches he landed on Margarito.
Pacquiao was guaranteed $15 million for the Nov. 13 fight at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas, just the same amount he got for his 2008 dream match with the legendary Oscar dela Hoya.
Pacquiao?s income for his most recent fight, however, got a big boost from the huge pay-per-view sales.
The other day, HBO released the official pay-per-view numbers for the explosive 12-round encounter for the vacant WBC super-welterweight crown.
The fight was beamed live to a total of 137 countries, and when the final tally came in it was 1.15 million PPV hits for a sales of $64 million.
It marked the third time that Pacquiao breached the one million mark in PPV sales, making him one of the most bankable figures in the sport. He did 1.25 million against Dela Hoya in 2008, and 1.20 million against Miguel Cotto last year.
Arum said the PPV sales of the Margarito fight is enough reason to make everybody happy.
?These are good numbers and everybody?s very happy,? he said from his home in Los Angeles.
What?s more important, the Harvard-educated lawyer added, is that Pacquiao isn?t done with boxing yet.
A couple of days ago, Pacquiao, who turns 32 on Dec. 17, said he can fight until he turns 35, and in between those years there are big fight to be made, but none as big as the one with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
?There are bigger and better things to come,? said Arum from the other end of the line.
?These pay-per-view numbers only show the incredible popularity of Manny Pacquiao in the United States and outside the United States,? said Arum.
