Pacquiao‘s last fight against Timothy Bradley reportedly made only 400,000 buys valued at about $24 million. The sharp decline in Pacquiao’s PPV numbers was due primarily to his lackluster performance against Mayweather last year which he claimed to have been caused by his shoulder injury before and during the fight.
Since his “Dream Match” with Oscar de la Hoya in 2008, Pacquaio has fought 15 PPV bouts and made over 1,000,000 buys in more than half of those fights.
For several years, Pacquiao was getting $20 million guaranteed fee from his promoter Bob Arum but in his fight against Vargas this Saturday, Arum isn’t giving him the usual guarantee.
But Arum said Pacquiao may still get the usual $20 million fee and even more if the Pacquiao-Vargas fight makes over 600,000 buys.
“Anything north of 600,000 buys would be a big night and he’d make a lot of money,” Arum said. “I’m hoping he makes money like the Manny of old,” said Arum, who predicted earlier in the week a fully sold out gate tickets.
The Vargas fight is crucial for Pacquiao because, a possible loss could make or break his boxing career. A knockout or a very impressive win over Vargas could send Pacquiao to another collision course with Mayweather next year which could be another blockbuster fight. But even if Mayweather stays retired, Pacquaio can look forward to more lucrative fights.
Right now, Pacquiao is still favored to win over Vargas but the 27-year-old Mexican-American from Las Vegas is confident he will pull off the upset to retain his WBO welterweight title.
Pacquiao is aiming to become the first incumbent senator to win a world title in the sport. A win will likewise enable him to reclaim his WBO welterweight title for the third time.
