MANILA, Philippines — Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao remains the king of pay-per-view in the lighter weight division of world boxing.
The only bigger pay-per-view attraction is Oscar De La Hoya who fights in the bigger light middleweight class.
According to the figures released by HBO PPV recently, the Marco Antonio Barrera-Juan Manuel Marquez World Boxing Council super featherweight title fight on March 17 generated only 225,000 pay-per-view buys and $10.1 million in television revenue.
HBO expects the total number to rise after all cable system numbers come in and are tabulated, but it is doubted whether the figures would be a record.
In contrast, the third bout between Pacquiao and Morales for the WBC International super featherweight crown last November generated 350,000 buys, which is much higher than the Marquez-Barrera tiff.
Even the second Pacquiao-Morales rumble early last year generated the same 350,000 buys, while their initial encounter chalked up a slightly lower figure at 340,000 buys.
While he is ranged against a virtually unknown fighter in Mexican Jorge Solis on April 14, industry sources believe that Pacquiao can still deliver the figures enough to upstage the Barrera-Marquez bout.
Sources, however, believe that Pacquiao would have been better off being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which owns the promotional rights over fighters who could have given Pacquiao the meaningful fights he needs, as well as possible pay-per-view match-ups that would have easily rival the figures he chalked up against Morales.
