Pacquiao vs Mayweather Fight Worth $1 Billion?
If Manny Pacquiao wins his fight against Chris Algieri on Sunday in Macau, he may just be one step closer to a match with undefeated American fighter Floyd Mayweather which reports claim could be worth $1 billion.
Daily Mail stated that the price tag of the match has been raised to that amount since a lot of people are anticipating the fight between the two boxing legends.
The same report added that this bout could be "the single richest event in sporting history" with the prize of the game enough to change the mind of the fighter who is still mulling over accepting it.
"This bonanza is being made possible by the prospect of the first pay-per-view fight broadcast in China." Daily Mail wrote.
According to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum via Daily Mail, "Shiming is the driving force for taking pay-per-view into China. They idolise him and hundreds of millions have been watching him on regular television. Combine his appeal with Pacquiao-Mayweather and we are looking at numbers undreamed of before."
The subscription in China could be more than 100 million, and that could double the $300 million revenue expected to be made in the U.S. pay-per-view.
Aside from these money-generating strategies, Bad Left Hook said that a site fee in Macau or Las Vegas could also set "an all-time record" not to mention worldwide TV rights. The fight is estimated to give Mayweather $150 million and Pacquiao $100 million.
But Arum said that making the fight happen is still up to Mayweather since he has long shoved the possibility of facing the Filipino boxer in the ring.
In a separate Daily Mail report, it was noted that Pacquiao claimed that Mayweather is the one refusing to fight next year
"I'll never be frustrated if the Floyd fight doesn't happen. I pity him because all he thinks and does reflects the worldly aspects of life. He seems to have forgotten his spiritual nourishment," he was quoted by Daily Mail as saying.
This statement however is opposite to what Arum said in a GMA News report, where he revealed that some personalities are planning to collaborate to make the fight happen.
Though he refused to divulge other details, Arum said that CBS Corporation president and CEO Leslie Moonves to make the fight a reality.
"The networks are now already talking. I am now more optimistic that the fight is going to happen than I was three or four years ago. I am talking to responsible people who are in touch with the Mayweather guys. All of these people have the ability to move it ahead and make it happen," he added.
Arum also said that just in case the fight pushes through, they are considering to have it at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, where Pacquiao successfully defended his welterweight title against Joshua Clottey.
"It is the only venue which has the capacity to host a big show such as the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight."
Of course, before plans for this megafight are ironed out, Pacquiao must first make sure on Sunday that he will be able to beat Algieri and prove to the world that he is deserving of the chance to fight with Mayweather.