Modest PPV buys for Pacquiao-Clottey bout

Credit it to Manny Pacquiao's status as the face of boxing today. Despite a short period of time to promote his fight against an opponent generally lacking in fan base, Pacquiao's 12-round duel with Joshua Clottey for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title drew a moderate pay-per-view buys of 700,000. Senior vice-president for sports operations and Pay-Per-View at HBO Mark Taffet said the bout, which Pacquiao won by way of a lopsided unanimous decision, earned $35.3 million in domestic revenue. The match was held last March 13 at the $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium owned by billionaire Jerry Jones. The pay-per-view buys, according to Taffet, was unexpected given the lackluster nature of the fight, which obviously leaned on Pacquiao's popularity for it to become a hit. "We are extremely pleased with the pay-per-view performance of Pacquiao-Clottey. Fight like this traditionally do not exceed 400,000 buys," said Taffet in a statement. "It is a testament to the popularity of Pacquiao and the vitality of the sport. And it gives us great encouragement as we look toward the May 1 Mayweather-Mosley pay-per-view fight." The Filipino boxing icon, considered as the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, is expected to get a considerable share out of the pay-per-view revenue, bringing his total earnings for the fight at around $15 million, including his prize purse worth $12 million. Clottey, a native of Ghana but now based in Brooklyn, New York, will also receive percentage from the pay-per-view earnings. For the fight alone, the 32-year old boxer received $1.2 million, the biggest purse ever in his career. The pay-per-view buy is the lowest in Pacquiao's last four fights, but still remains one of the most attractive in all 12 pay-per-view fights the Filipino had been involved. His bouts with ring legend Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto still top Pacquiao's pay-per-view hits with 1.25 and 1.2 million, respectively. His 12-round stoppage of Cotto last November for the WBO welterweight championship was the most watched pay-per-view fight in 2009. Pacquiao's second round destruction of Briton Ricky Hatton last May generated 850,000 buys. In all, the seven-time world champion has earned $320 million in pay-per-view revenue. – GMANews.TV