MANILA, 25 November 2003 — Has someone’s bank account fattened other than that of Manny Pacquiao’s?
Reports reaching the Inquirer have it that HBO, pioneer of the pay-per-view concept, actually paid a whopping $700,000 (about 38.5 million pesos) as purse of Pacquiao for his conquest of Mexican featherweight great Marco Antonio Barrera.
The Mexican icon reportedly got a heftier $1-million paycheck.
Boston Herald’s George Kimball, in his report yesterday, said that at one point in the 11th round, the two HBO commentators let it slip that “while the network had budgeted some $700,000 for Pacquiao’s share of the purse, the Filipino’s contract somehow paid him just $300,000 for a virtuoso performance that has to rate as boxing’s upset of the year.”
Based on what was divulged to media and to his manager, Marty Elorde, Pacquiao was supposed to have received only $350,000. The training expenses will be deducted from the purse before Pacquiao, his manager, business manager and trainers divide the spoils.
So who could have pocketed the other half of the $700,000? This question begs to be answered all the more especially after Viva Sports has come up with a report that right after the fight, HBO had dangled a whopping $25-million, six-fight contract to the Filipino superstar.
This time, however, Pacquiao has told Viva Sports that HBO is trying to arrange a deal directly with Pacquiao’s Filipino handlers, effectively cutting off his American agent, Murad Muhammad.
The Filipino champ plans to return to action sometime in March. Among those on his radar screen are Erik Morales and World Boxing Association (WBA)/International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez.
