Does Pacquiao Really Deserve The Lion’s Share of the Pot?

Does this seem like déjà vu or what? If anything, is anybody still buying the possibility of Pacquiao vs. Hatton being called off because of another revenue disagreement? You there Mr. avid reader, do you buy any of this posturing? No, I didn’t think so. So let’s just debate the pros and cons in layman’s terms.

First of all, let me get it out of the way that this match-up is the best thing to do right now for both fighters from a financial and career standpoint. I mean let’s face it, unless Zorro comes out of nowhere to challenge Pacquiao to a fist fight then I think it’s safe to say that there isn’t a name out there for either fighters that would make them more money and attract public interest than each other.

Who can Ricky Hatton seriously fight that would generate more interest than a match-up with Pacquiao? (I’ll give you a 5 minute pause to think this one out) Ok, was Floyd Mayweather Jr. the best you can do? Fine. But why? Other than the Hattonites, who would want to see that fight again? And no, regardless of Floyd Sr. being in Hatton’s corner, it wouldn’t make a difference. So scratch that. De la Hoya? Yea right. If Hatton beats De la Hoya, people will just say “so what? Pacquiao whooped him”. And if De la Hoya beats Hatton, can you imagine how that will damage his career? It ain’t happening. 

As for Manny, well, actually Manny has options. The first option would be… yea, you guessed it! Floyd Mayweather Jr. This would be a match-up that the boxing world would truly go bananas over. The match-up sells itself. You don’t really need to say much about it. Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao, a big lump of cash, LET’S GO. Especially right after the devastating beat down Pacquiao put on De la Hoya after all the publicity they generated for it. Man, are you kidding me? ESPN would eat this thing up! Best believe Pacquiao is no longer the Philippines’ treasure. Pacquiao is definitely an international superstar now. Just look at all those celebrities who came out to support him before the fight. Talk about Usher, Reggie Miller, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Longoria and even weeks after the fight, NFL star Courtland Finnegan of the Tennessee Titans had his practice jersey customized to say Pacquiao on it instead of his last name. I mean come on. Celebrities are like tokens of trends going on in the society. Unless you live under a rock, celebrities are indications of where the masses’ heads are at. Yea, just like that Coach or Louis Vuitton bag your momma and your girlfriend or wife has and those pair of Kobe hyper dunks or Jordans kids and big kids alike love to wear.

Also, Manny can satisfy the purists and go the trilogy route; Trilogy as in Juan Manuel Marquez trilogy route. If their rematch did good buys last year, those numbers will easily quadruple after Pacquiao’s rise to international superstardom and Marquez’ own ascension as one of the sports best and most respected boxers.

There’s also the PPV factor. The UK is a big player on this one, especially with the economy in the states being as depressing as it is right now. Hatton can bring in a lot of money on the table just from the PPV sales from the UK buys this fight will generate. And realistically, a match-up between an Asian and a European on American soil despite their big names is still a big risk if you’re hoping for the average American viewer to gobble it up. Although you have to take in consideration Pacquiao’s ever growing Mexican and Latino fan base in the states, but will they actually shelf out money to see Pacquiao fight someone other than one of their own? Maybe, but it’s a big unknown.

We also have to take in consideration that technically Hatton is still the naturally bigger fighter. Throw away everything Freddie Roach said about Manny not going back to 135, for Manny to fight Hatton he is still moving up in weight to fight a heavier guy. I know that sounds confusing especially when Manny just won a match in 147 but that was a special case scenario. It was only 6 months ago that Manny moved up to 135 and Hatton has been a dominant force at 140 for as long as people have known him. Manny should get some reservations for that.

Hatton can also salvage his career and really add a big name in his resume if he beats Pacquiao. It could very well be the fight that makes Ricky Hatton a crossover superstar here in America. Because let’s be real, who has Ricky really beaten thus far? And Pacquiao is a beatable guy for Ricky. The risk-reward scenario is a truly favorable one for the Hit Man. 

So where does that leave us?

Manny I think does deserve the Lion’s Share of the pot for the reasons I stated above. Manny has other options. Ricky doesn’t really have a better one other than Manny. Ricky should be open to giving Manny more money because he has more to gain in beating Pacquiao than if he was to face anybody else. It’s his chance to defeat the #1 Pound for Pound fighter in the world and in some sense redeem himself for his only loss against the then #1 Pound for Pound Floyd Mayweather Jr. How much money is he really going to make elsewhere? The rewards for beating someone with Pacquiao’s resume is so much more worth than another 5% or 10% of the revenue split.

Pacquiao has earned the distinction of being the top dog in boxing at the moment and he deserves to be treated as such. Whether he actually gets the 60% he is asking for though is beyond me, but you really can’t blame a guy for playing the game smart- a game that also played him when he was nobody and was trying to come up. So heck yea he deserves to ask for more. He earned it! It’s part of the game and now that he’s the top dog, he’s just playing the game smart. I really don’t think it’s about greed for Manny as he is a charitable guy and gives away more money to the less fortunate people around him more than any boxer I can think of. That extra 5%-10% will just mean Manny would be able to share more of his wealth and blessings to those that ask from him. It’s in Manny’s words “just part of the business”. And any smart businessman would simply do the same thing. With all that said the Pac Man deserves the bigger piece of the steak, but at the end of the day, who am I to say right? I just hope this fight pushes through.