PACMAN: CASH COW NO MORE?
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 26 Apr 2013
It?s funny how things can change so fast within a year. A year ago, boxers and their managers drool of a Manny Pacquiao fight. It?s their ticket to name recognition, stardom and loads of prize money. A Pacquiao fight is the Super bowl of the sport and everybody wants to be at the other end of it, basking in the attention and dollars that it brings.
Twelve months, two defeats, one by a jaw crushing knockout, suddenly Pacquiao is now merely an option for his two former opponents, Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley. Not even a multi-million offer can entice the two to share the ring with The Pacman again. And add insult to injury, not only do they dodged him, they agreed to fighting each other in a showdown in the fall. That leaves the Filipino star without a recognizable name to tangle with in a planned bout in Asia in the last quarter of this year.
Pacquiao?s chief negotiating guy, adviser Michael Koncz, must be doing something wrong. Two viable and lucrative options for his client already turned him down. A third option will fit Pacquiao with junior lightweights, Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios. Not bad fights but then again, they are the third and fourth choice in a narrowing field of choices. And Pacquiao's guarantee money will have to take a substantial bite as well.
And is the proposed venue of the fight a factor? This will be Pacquiao?s first fight out of America in seven years. And there is a reason that he fights in America, it is the dollars generated from the Pay-Per-View earnings. His 2006 fight in the Philippines against Oscar Larios is not, his last non-PPV appearance. His fight this year is a guaranteed PPV offering and that makes this whole Asian adventure complicated.
Why, because of the time difference between America and Asia, twelve hours in the East and nine in the West Coast. That means Pacquiao will have to stage the bout at ten in the morning in Macao or Singapore at the earliest to capture his anticipated audience in the West. Now tell me, who watches a live boxing show before lunch and likewise on TV, if they fight during nighttime over there.
And it will also be a challenge to promote it. When Pacquiao fights and trains stateside, he promotes the fight in the process by having TV appearances, a workout in the screens of Time Square, TV commercials, interviews with the big shots of international media etc. etc. His presence is a promotion material by itself, judging by the throng of fans that wait for him at The Wild Card gym where he trains and at Griffith Park where he runs. That will all be gone when he fights and trains outside of media-laden America, potentially decreasing interest to this fight.
Vegas will be a factor too. Yes they say that Macao is the new frontier, but will 1200 dollar seats be a hot ticket there as compared to Sin City? Will they add to the coffer of earnings for the boxer from General Santos City/Sarangani Province? Much needed money after an expensive funded election for him, his wife, brother, adviser and almost everyone in his area that cling to his name and generosity.
Times are changing for the Pacman and it is not only in his boxing career but also in his financial clout. His next fight is a crossroad fight for him as a pugilist but also as a top money maker for the sport. His last two showdowns with Bradley and Marquez are not exactly the blockbuster numbers that he has been accustomed to in the past. The Bradley bout even failed to generate a million buys for them, owing to Bradley?s lack of name recognition at that time. Will this proposed fight with Alvarado and Rios fare better with all the factors I mentioned above?
But as things are changing for the Pacman, it is a needed change for his career. Maybe, the decrease in attention will do better for him as a boxer. Maybe, he can concentrate more and not get distracted by all this pre-fight PR activities. Maybe, training in the homeland can bring back that old spark in him as the fighter of old, maybe.
Well one good thing about this is, he will save more than a million dollars in ticket giveaways to all his free loaders in America. Add the free accommodation in the plush Mandalay Bay and transportation expenses for his huge entourage of barnacles.That is a large amount of savings for him.
Now that is one way to look at it right?
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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