dSource is on Twitter @dRealSource and Facebook
Previous Stories: It's showtime for the 'Method Man': Melindo looking for breakout fight vs Esquer / If 40M w/o PPV revenue is such a good offer, Mayweather should accept it himself
Ignorance is bliss, so they say. Unfortunately, some may have to deal with the agony of truth and clarity after this piece.
Earlier this week, NSAC's documents regarding Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s official fight purses made its rounds in the social media and internet forums and sparked debate amongst boxing fans with vested interests in the elusive superfight.
The money and business side of boxing is not my expertise, nor is it a topic of interest. But in light of the recent Pacquiao and Mayweather disagreement regarding how their money should be split, I felt the matter was relevant.
Was Pacquiao getting scewed by his promoter? Do the figures suggest that Mayweather deserves a bigger split against Pacquiao?
OTHER NEWS: Dana White taunts hackers; hackers respond by leaking personal info on the net
In an effort to understand the matter, I published the documents shared by our friend and colleague John Chavez of The Boxing Truth Radio which reflects a striking disparity between Mayweather and Pacquiao's reported purses, and reached out to a few boxing insiders, lawyers, managers and promoters for their input.
Chavez's concern is a valid one.
"A professional boxer usually employs a manager or in this new age of boxing... an 'advisor' that looks out for his or her best interest," Chavez wrote.
"Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are both considered the two best fighters in the world.
Both Floyd and Manny have been compared very similarly in terms of popularity and being massive revenue generating machines within the boxing world.
They both draw relatively similar domestic Pay-Per-View figures and they both draw relatively similar live gate figures.
Al Haymon operates as Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s advisor.
Michael Koncz operates as Manny Pacquiao’s advisor.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. would fight Shane Mosley on May 1, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. Floyd would be guaranteed a tad over $22 million for his bout.
Manny Pacquiao would fight Shane Mosley on May 7, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. Manny would be guaranteed $6 million for his bout.
I’m not smart in any sense of the word. I just fail to comprehend as to how two fighters deemed as equals in terms of drawing power fail to demand similar guarantees especially when fighting the same opponent at the same venue," he continued.
Recent Stories: Nonito Donaire and Morris East: A tandem of two 'Pinoy Greats' / Michael Farenas gets his big opportunity (and test) against Mikey Garcia
The typical Mayweather fan together with the pom pom boy groupie writers took it as a sign that their man indeed deserves a bigger split as opposed to the 50/50 split Pacquiao proposed.
Many, like colleague Michael Marley from New York whom I consulted on his take regarding the issue, have no interest in how Pacquiao and his promoter or Mayweather make their money or allocate their finances (I actually belonged to this category prior to this week) and that real earnings and spendings of fighters would not be made public in such a manner anyway.
Another lawyer who works in behalf of a few boxers explained to me that NSAC figures do not reflect a boxer's true earnings or what he gets from promoters. A lot of the revenue would come from Pay-per-View buys, local TV rights and through his own promotional company MP Promotions. Perhaps that explains why big time fighters like Miguel Cotto, also have their promotional outfits.
ESPN's Dan Rafael explained the matter in layman's terms in a recent chat and wrote:
"The figures written a Nevada contract are not necessarily the real number for big PPV guys. They get most of their money off PPV generally. So if Manny's "official" purse is $8 million fine. But he is guaranteed in his contract with Top Rank (which is not something the commission would have or release if it did) something like $20 million or whatever. The money is the money. One of the reasons for the disparity is because Manny is not a US citizen and is often paid a large amount of his money through his Filipino promotional company and deals in the Philippines for things like the television revenue there. So while it looks like a big difference it is not in reality."
With all that said, it only justifies Pacquiao's stand to turn down the guaranteed $40 million Mayweather offered him for a fight, as long as he waived his share of the PPV revenue.
Mayweather was being shrewd, but Pacquiao is not as gullible and foolish as some might think. As it is, the whole NSAC numbers controvery is proving to be yet another spin as to why Mayweather can't fight Pacquiao and vice versa that preyed on the many boxing fans who are naive when it comes to the business of boxing.
"So folks can keep on drinking the kool aid. But they dont get how the business actually works when it comes to fighters from overseas. I once covered a world title fight in Vegas with a champion from South Africa in say about 2002. His Nevada contract for a world title fight said his official purse was like $1,000. But he was making more like $50,000 because of the TV money from South Africa. You can do anything with numbers. What is written on the Nevada paper for big time fights isn't worth the paper it is written on," Rafael would put things in perspectve.
- dSG -
("I love Manny Pacquiao" Click this link to watch the video of Floyd Mayweather praising Manny Pacquiao)
Hit the subscribe button on top of the page to get free updates and articles first "Straight from dSource" sent to your e-mail.
[ALSO READ] Shawn Porter wants to fight in the Philippines; not keen on Pacquiao-Cotto 2 / The enigmatic mind of Victor Ortiz / The truth behind the Pacquiao-Mayweather debacle: A Rationalization / Quote of the Week - Mark Munoz: "The Filipino culture.. these are my roots man. I grew up Filipino. I grew up around Filipinos. I just love my culture man."
** Legal waiver - By quoting, copying and using material from this article to your website, publication or blog, you agree to give full credit to Dennis 'dSource' Guillermo and Examiner.com, provide a link / hyperlink to the original article. **
- For more boxing articles, log on to www.dSourceBoxing.com
Comments