“He said he will guarantee me $40 million but I won’t have any share on the pay-per-view and other sources of revenue,” said WBO Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao.
So what does that leave Floyd Mayweather Jr?
If the bout grosses over $100 Million – and most experts think it will – Mayweather would stand to earn considerably more than his superstar foe. Keep in mind, Mayweather would ask for a percentage of the pay-per-view (PPV) revenue and may seek to receive a cut of the profits made from concession stands (beer, hot dogs and etc) and fight-related apparel.
So which fighter should have the most leverage when negotiating the purse deal in a superfight?
The answer arguably depends on the following factors with the last two carrying the most weight. Champion Status Pound-for Pound Supremacy/ Accomplishments Overall Popularity PPV Buy Rates & Gate Revenue Purse per Fight
Champion Status Excluding rare cases when a challenger’s reputation, popularity and accomplishments far exceed those of the champion (ex: Terry Norris vs Sugar Ray Leonard, Victor Ortiz vs Floyd Mayweather Jr), a champion’s purse is usually greater than a challenger’s. However, since both Pacquiao and Mayweather are legitimate world champions in the same weight class, neither man has leverage in this department. Advantage: No one
Pound-For-Pound Supremacy/Accomplishments Pacquiao and Mayweather are relatively equally accomplished and neither decisively owns the mythical pound-for-pound title. Boxing experts, sportwriters and the media are split between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayeather Jr. Hence, that’s one reason this bout is so compelling.
If the universally-recognized No. 1 fighter in the world fought the universally-recognized No. 3 fighter, the ‘pound-for-pound’ champion could certainly try to use his ranking as leverage for a higher purse. But for the situation at-hand, there’s is no consensus on who is the better fighter and, as a result, both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr must cede leverage in this category. Advantage: No one
Overall Popularity If Pacquiao or Mayweather were negotiating with Sergio Martinez, there would be no question as to which fighter was most popular. Even if Martinez was on par with Mayweather and Pacquiao in the pound-for-pound rankings and held a world welterweight title, he couldn’t demand nearly as much money as Pac or May because he’s hasn’t captivated the masses like Pacquiao and Mayweather.
In 1981, WBC Welterweight Champion Sugar Ray Leonard fought WBA Welterweight Titlist Thomas Hearns. As with Mayweather and Pacquiao today, the media was split over who owned pound-for-pound supremacy. Leonard posted a record of 30-1, 21 KOs while ‘Hitman’ Hearns entered the ring at a bloodcurdling 32-0, 30 KOs. Despite Hearns’ superior record and their relative parity as world champions and pound-for-pound fighters, Leonard was guranteed $14 Million USD while Hearns only 11 Million USD. Sugar Ray was more popular in the mainstream and could galvanize more interest in the event than his welterweight peer. Simply put, Sugar Ray’s participation in the event was more impactful than Hearns.’
Can either Pacquiao or Mayweather claim he his decisively more popular than his foe? Most likely the answer is a solid ‘No.’ And while Manny Pacquiao can claim he’s arguably the world’s most popular athlete based on Google searches in 2011, Floyd Mayweather Jr can do the same. Although Pacquiao received more searches than any other athlete in the world, Mayweather vs Ortiz – according to Google Zeitgest 2011, was the most searched for sporting event, far exceeding Pacquiao vs Mosley and Pacquiao vs Marquez.
Even using when using Google as a possible tie-breaker, the men are deadlocked in popularity. Advantage: No one
PPV Buy Rates & Gate Revenue A fighter’s popularity and pound-for-pound status are based on opinion, and holding a title could simply be the result of politics and/or match-making. Those factors aren’t indicative of hard-core, metrics-based data. Opinions can be argued… Facts cannot. A fighter’s championship merit can be disputed… Metrics cannot.
How many PPV buys have Pacquiao and Mayweather generated in their last five bouts? Sources : Wikipedia Mayweather vs De La Hoya (2007) – 2,400,000 Mayweather vs Hatton (2007) – 920,000 Mayweather vs Marquez (2009) – 1,050,000 Mayweather vs Mosley (2010) – 1,400,000 Mayweather vs Ortiz (2011) – 1,250,000
Mayweather’s Average: 1,404,000 PPV Buys —— Pacquiao vs Cotto (2009) – 1,2500,000 Pacquiao vs Clottey (2010) – 700,000 Pacquiao vs Margarito (2010) – 1,500,000 Pacquiao vs Mosley (2011) – 1,350,000 Pacquaio vs Marquez (2011) – 1,450,000
Pacquiao’s Average: 1,250,000 PPV Buys ——
But in all fairness, Mayweather and Pacquiao’s opponents must be taken into consideration when accessing pay-per-view metrics. Joshua Clottey, who fought Pacquiao in 2010, brought far less to the table than De La Hoya in his 2007 bout against Mayweather.
So how do the fighters stack up against the same opponent and how much did people pay at the gate to see those bouts?
Buy Rate/ Attendance Gate Sources : Nevada State Athletic Commission, Wikipedia Mayweather vs De La Hoya (2007) – 2,400,000/ $18.42 Mil USD Pacquiao vs De La Hoya (2008) – 1,250,000 / $14.8 Mil USD Mayweather vs Hatton (2007) – 920,000/ $10.39 Mil USD Pacquiao vs Hatton (2009) – 850,000/ $8.83 Mil Mil US Mayweather vs Marquez (2009) – 1,050,000/ $6.86 Mil USD Pacquiao vs Marquez III (2011) 1,450,000/ $11.68 Mil USD Mayweather vs Mosley (2010) – 1,400,000/$ 11.03 Mil USD Pacquiao vs Mosley (2011) – 1,300,000/$ 8.88 Mil USD
What’s gone virtually unnoticed is Mayweather’s PPVs of late have been more expensive than Pacquiao’s. Mayweather’s last two PPVs sold for $59.95 USD in standard definition in most markets while Pacquiao’s PPV bouts against Mosley and Marquez sold for $5 USD less for standard definition. The extent to which the 9% fee increase (for standard definition purchasers) effected the buy rate for Mayweather’s last two bouts is not yet known but can probably be surmised.
While Pacquiao’s most recent PPV outsold Mayweather’s by a considerable margin (200,000), actual revenue numbers are much closer given Mayweather’s event sold at a greater price. Couple that with the fact that Marquez was a much bigger draw than Ortiz and Pacquiao has little leverage when comparing both fighters’ most recent PPV outing.
In their last five fights, Mayweather has averaged roughly 154,000 more PPVs per bout despite the fee hike for his last two bouts. And against the same opponent, Mayweather’s fights have outperformed Pacquiao’s in PPV sales and gate revenue in three of four cases. Advantage: Mayweather
Purse Per Event Most will assume an elite fighter’s revenue is directly linked to PPV sales but that link is more indirect than direct. A fighter’s overall purse is difficult to assess and often depends on several factors, most notably his guaranteed purse and the percentage of PPV revenue a fighter agrees to accept.
Below is a list of ‘guaranteed purses’ for both fighters. A guaranteed purse can represent a fighter’s entire salary for a given fight or the minimum salary he stands to earn if his overall salary is dependent on a combination of factors such as PPV sales.
Mayweather’s recent guaranteed fight purses: vs Ortiz (2011): 25 Mil USD vs. Mosley (2010) : $22.5 Mil USD vs. Marquez: (2009) $10 Mil USD vs. Hatton: (2007) $11 Mil USD vs. De La Hoya: (2007) $10 Mil USD
Pacquiao’s recent guaranteed fight purses: vs. Marquez (2011): $22 Mil USD vs. Mosley: (2011): $6 Mil USD vs. Cotto: (2011) $7.5 Mil USD vs Hatton: (2009) $7.4 Mil USD vs. De La Hoya: (2008) $6.6 Mil USD
Keep in mind, the above purses are simply the ‘guarantees’ and are not reflective of the fighters’ overall salary for each bout. Nevertheless, even in this category Mayweather outperforms Pacquiao. Advantage: Mayweather
Who Owns Leverage When Asking for More Money? If one only uses metrics to assess which fighter should have more leverage in negotiations for a potential Pacquiao vs Mayweather match-up, some would argue Floyd Mayweather Jr – based on the numbers – would have a definitive edge. Mayweather seemingly enjoys advantages in overall PPV buys per bout and guaranteed revenue per bout. In addition, he outperforms the Filipino Slugger in 3 of 4 bouts against a similar opponent.
Does Mayweather deserve more money? Maybe and maybe not.
In the end, market forces will dictate who gets what as both legends, by far, represent the other’s most lucrative fight.
