The Billion Dollar Fight — no, not a movie, the actual promotion — will come closer to reality if Manny Pacquiao beats Christopher Algieri in Macau on Saturday.
One billion dollars. That is the mind-blowing value now being placed upon the boxing match the world has been desperate to see.
Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather can become the single richest event in sporting history and the enormity of the prize will surely be enough to break down the barriers which have prevented it from taking place. This bonanza is being made possible by the prospect of the first pay-per-view fight broadcast in China.
Promoter Bob Arum predicts a TV audience in the People’s Republic of over 100million. That would pull in double the £192million ($300m) projected as the US pay-TV value of the Fight of the Century.
Yet the key to unlocking that is not in the hands of the PacMan or Mayweather.
Arum is priming this enormous market by taking Pacquiao to Macau — a Portuguese colony — to headline promotions which also showcase Chinese boxing hero Zou Shiming.
This 33-year-old acquired celebrity status in China by winning Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008 and at London 2012.
After starting his professional career with five wins, Shiming is closing in on a challenge for the world flyweight title, with Saturday’s bout being billed as a final eliminator. Arum says: ‘Shiming is the driving force for taking pay-per-view into China. They idolise him and hundreds of millions have been watching on television.’
Macau, fast becoming the Las Vegas of the East, is hosting its second PacMan fight, so expect a bidding war for the big one between Macau and Vegas, with the MGM Grand Garden — Mayweather’s preferred venue — pitching for Vegas.
Pacquiao is happy either way. The Philippines congressman says: ‘I love fighting in Vegas but when I box in Macau it feels like home. This is only a 90-minute flight from Manila and we’re expecting at least 5,000 of my fans who can’t always afford the cost of travelling to America.’
The PacMan and Mayweather are both expected to be in action twice next year, in May and September.
This weekend, Pacquiao’s purse is believed to be a minimum of £16m ($25m) and the PacMan is a heavy favourite to beat Algieri. When it comes to The Billion Dollar fight, he and Mayweather would be looking to split at least £160m ($250m).
Assuming Pacquiao does win in Macau, the reluctant Mayweather can expect to receive an offer which no man who goes by the name Money can refuse. – Daily Mail