P1-billion prize eyed in next Pacquiao fight

LOS ANGELES — Assuming Manny Pacquiao topples Miguel Cotto from his throne in November, his next bout will certainly earn him a billion peso prize – win or lose.

That is, if Floyd Mayweather repulses Juan Manuel Marquez this Saturday.

If both Pacquiao and Mayweather prevail, there will be no other bout that will make boxing fans drool from excitement but to see the current pound-for-pound king take on the former holder of that mythical title.

If everything falls into place, Pacquiao and Mayweather will figure in a collision course in 2010, a matchup so mouth-watering it has all the trappings of a record-breaker in terms of ticket sales and attendance records.

Industry sources say Pacquiao should get a guarantee of $25 million (P1.2 billion) against Mayweather plus a share in pay-per-view and ticket sales as well.

Against Cotto on November 14, Pacquiao has been guaranteed $13 million and a cut in the other revenue-generating schemes.

“Kapag nanalo kami pareho ni Mayweather, kami na (ang maglalaban). Nag-uusap na pero si Cotto muna ang focus natin. Basta nag-uusap na,” Pacquiao told a pair of Filipino scribes who were invited by Top Rank to cover the press tour and join the fighter on the private plane that brought them here from San Francisco.

Pacquiao was joined by his trainer Freddie Roach, lawyer Franklin Gacal and Canadian adviser Mike Koncz, training assistant Roger Fernandez, free-lance publicist Fred Sternburg on the 50-minute journey.

Pacquiao was supposed to check in at the Beverly Hills Hotel but opted instead to stay in his pricey house at Hancock Park where Koncz cooked up his famed steak barbecue that pleased his boss.

Pacquiao became boxing’s recognized holder of the coveted pound-for-pound crown on the strength of his sensational wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya and his hold to that lofty position was galvanized by his smashing one-punch knockout of Ricky Hatton last May.

Mayweather, who made his announcement almost two years ago, was regarded as pound-for-pound titlist at that time.

Even Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, has his sights on a Mayweather showdown although the Harvard-educated lawyer insists Pacquiao should first deal with the dangerous Cotto before salivating over the mega-buck Mayweather bout.

Source: mb.com.ph