Pacquiao-Clottey comes in at 700,000 PPV buys
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 11:11 AM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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The final tally -- or at least what will now be accepted as the number forever -- for the Pacquiao-Clottey PPV is in. The fight, which was said to be around 650-700,000 buys on pay-per-view, settled in at 700,000, according to Sports Business Daily.
That makes for $35.3 million in PPV revenue. HBO's Ross Greenburg expressed satisfaction with the numbers, saying he expected 500-600,000 buys, and that even the folks at HBO didn't think Manny Pacquiao could carry this fight as high as he did. And make no mistake, this was a one-man show in promotion. Well, Manny and to a lesser extent, the stadium.
All in all, I'd say they did well financially. Not that I'm a financial analyst or anything close, but this seems closer to the high end than the low of what really should have been expected. They'll be blown out of the water in sales by Mosley-Mayweather on May 1, and I think everyone is aware of that, and that nobody expects anything different.
If you see this as a "disappointing" number, I don't know what to tell you. There's no reason to try to "excuse" it by saying Manny's fight took the brunt of the "let's not buy until Manny-Floyd" backlash, which I don't think is real to begin with. People really love to loudly express displeasure, and especially threaten to withhold their money, but they rarely follow through on these things. The people that didn't order the show probably weren't going to to begin with, and the people that "wound up" ordering it last-minute were probably always going to order it.
700,000 people for a $50 TV Joshua Clottey fight isn't bad at all, and is a testament to where Pacquiao's at as a draw. The last time Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a genuine non-draw across the ring from him, he did 325,000 against Carlos Baldomir, who was the legit welterweight champion. I'm not saying that to knock Floyd or pump up Manny, what I'm saying is that it's a great example of the strides boxing has made in the last four years. A fight similar to this in 2006 did half of what it does now, although I'll also concede that 2010 Manny is a bigger star than 2006 Floyd was. Mayweather-Judah that year did about 350K, too. The good thing about all this is that there is no doubt that boxing is stronger and better than it was four years ago.
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having a fight that terrible be one of the biggest of the year, with such a blase undercard is hardly “strides” in the past 4 years. as a fan, a hardcore one at that….it’s a joke that that was one of the best fights that could be made this year. that’s like calling Chambers lasting 7+ rds against Klitschko a sign of how the HW division is better than it has been for 4 years! wow! ooh! aah-…oh wait.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei. Basillio. Harry Greb.
by theworldsoldestsport on Mar 24, 2010 11:37 AM EDT reply actions
that’s like calling Chambers lasting 7+ rds against Klitschko a sign of how the HW division is better than it has been for 4 years!
I don’t see how this compares, honestly. Klitschko-Chambers couldn’t get American TV. The heavyweight division in America is almost totally irrelevant at this point. Vitali Klitschko-Cris Arreola was the highest-rated fight on HBO last year, but the returns on the fight were horrible. Klitschko had Mayweather CompuBox numbers that night, but not Mayweather style. It was ugly.
That could apply here, actually. Maybe. The Manny-Clottey reception was awful after the fact, but it was all blamed on Joshua Clottey’s unwillingness to engage in a fight. Will that affect Manny going forward? I don’t know for sure, but at least for the short-term, I doubt it, and I don’t know how long-term Pacquiao’s career is going to be.
Maybe it’ll come down to whether or not Pacquiao-Clottey was a bad enough fight, or a damaging enough fight, to hurt future PPVs. There were three major PPVs last year. Hatton-Pacquiao was sensational, even though disappointing in its own way. Still, that was one where you saw the KO and had to see that guy fight again. Mayweather-Marquez was every bit as bad and uncompetitive as Pacquiao-Clottey was. Cotto-Pacquiao was pretty exciting for four rounds and then it turned tactical at best, sad at worst. It wound up being what I’d consider a pretty good fight boosted by a very “special” atmosphere and feel.
As for undercards, this undercard was better than those for Hatton-Pacquiao and Cotto-Pacquiao. The Mayweather-Marquez undercard was very good on paper, mostly due to John-Juarez II.
It’s hardly a “joke” that Pacquiao-Clottey, two top five welterweights, is one of the best fights that could be made, because you’re looking at it differently than I’m trying to. It’s not “best” in that the fight was going to be great. It never had the potential to be a great fight. If “best” = “biggest” then yes, this will be one of the best of the year. But Pac-Clottey is not going to rank as one of the 40 best fights on American TV this year, let alone worldwide TV or the sport on the whole, and no one’s saying that.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Not Pacquiao's fault
— Bob Arum’s fault for making fights with Top Rank fights to keep the money in house. Instead of seeking better match-up’s to test Pacquiao, Arum instead keeps the big threats away and keep feeding him B-level Boxers.
Pacquiao’s Cotto win isn’t even a testament to his Boxing skills. Cotto was damaged after that Margacheato beatdown.
Pacquiao has very few options. It’s to Top Rank to get to that.
"I do no speak of the future. Your demise is already an inescapable fact of the past. " - Aizen
"Forty have tried, all forty had a gameplan." — Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fan since 7/12/97 — 40-0-0 (25 KOs)
Mayweather Hitlist: "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao
Who do you suggest Pacquiao had fought on 3/13 if not Clottey and obviously it wasn’t going to be Mayweather? Shane Mosley and Andre Berto were set to fight on 1/30 and that fight had not been canceled yet, so neither of them were options. He had just beaten Miguel Cotto. There are basically no other options viable in the welterweight division. Zab Judah isn’t relevant, Luis Collazo is as much a nobody as Clottey, and going up to 154 to fight Foreman wouldn’t have been any more successful, and it would’ve been pretty dumb, which I think everyone involved knew. If Manny Pacquiao loses to Yuri Foreman simply because he’s finally too small, you just did a horrible job as a promoter and matchmaker.
But I absolutely do agree that going forward, Manny has severely limited options, which is of course why Top Rank is talking about matching him with Antonio Margarito later this year, which I find both disgusting and cowardly. Margarito getting that payday would seriously sour me on Top Rank’s motives.
The only fight for Manny Pacquiao now is the Mosley-Mayweather winner. I could maybe stomach a fight with Andre Berto, but that seems very unlikely. I do get the weird feeling that if Andre Berto, an undefeated young titlist, gets by Carlos Quintana on 4/10, he could find himself the center of a bidding war between Top Rank (for Pacquiao) and Golden Boy/Mayweather Promotions.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Was there really a non-Top Rank fighter he could have faced?
Mosley and Berto were fighting each other. Clottey was the next best guy in the division. On top of that, they only had a week or so to put a fight together, since Manny needed the fight to be no later than March 13 because of his run for office.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
What was the breakdown of sales for Mayweather-Marquez? If I recall correctly, they did a fairly large of chunk of business in the movie theaters. Did they ever break out how many of the buys were PPV versus the cheaper movie tickets?
I’m still interested in the theater route as an promising alternative to PPV. And with the way they are starting to perfect 3D projection in the theaters, it might be a really interesting way to watch a big fight.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
The PPVs and theaters were counted differently. They did 1 million on PPV (525K on cable, 475K on satellite). The theaters sold impressively, too.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't know
if the technology exists to make a live event in 3D, and even if it does, I’m not sure it would really make much of a difference.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
The only difference I was thinking that it would make was the draw of more casual fans and maybe even non-fans to see the spectacle.
I imagine it would be very hard to pull off a live 3D event, but if they can one day it might make a great marketing tool. Violence and 3D would make a compelling sell to the younger crowd.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
I know
that I’m not buying another one until—and if—Pacquiao/Mayweather.
And maybe not it either. I can wait a week.
No more sitting through hours of what I consider shit-undercards.
I’d rather sleep and be able to get up early for the gym, or for life in general.
3D
I know Sky in Britain have started showing some footbal matches in 3 D so i think the technology to do it there!
Good to know
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
this was a successful PPV
IMHO.. 700k buys for Pacquiao is solid w/ 51k tickets sold for the fight is an amazing number. I agree, May-Mosley is going to kill 700k but thats expected because the match up is better, Mosley has a more recognized name then Clottey and there will be an HBO 24/7.
IMHO.. 700k buys for Pacquiao is solid w/ 51k tickets sold for the fight is an amazing number. I agree, May-Mosley is going to kill 700k but thats expected because the match up is better, Mosley has a more recognized name then Clottey and there will be an HBO 24/7.Im not saying the fight was any good, it was as good as it could be for one person in the ring – and I think a lot of casual fans who dont know Clottey expcted a KO; which is sad considering that Clotteys style/chin, whatever.. wont allow him to be KO’d.
Pac Man or Floyd?
Who is the bigger draw? Man it is so hard to tell. Fans in America will always buy Floyd fights, because it is “the thing to do”. He is a great promoter and gets his fights bought. Pac proved in the Clottey fight that he does not draw as well in the US as Floyd. 700k buys? Not bad. Pac Man has a whole nation following him and everything he does. They are as loyal as can be, unlike American fight fans (in my opinion). Let’s hope Pac does not fall in the Klitschko trap. Where he is so much better than everyone else, it becomes no fun watching him beat the crap out of someone over and over again.
All of my thoughts can be read here: http://www.examiner.com/x-33584-Cleveland-Boxing-Examiner
Cleveland Boxing Examiner
by Cleveland Boxing Examiner on Mar 24, 2010 3:01 PM EDT reply actions
Pac Man has a “whole nation watching him” – except they watch the fights for free over there. And, the Phillipines aren’t the market that say, Mexican-American fight fans are.
"Yes Gina, I am a Wise Cracker"
It is kind of nuts and kind of not nuts that Paquiao could do 700k buys in the States by himself. He’s became an international sensation over the past few years.
He’s also singlehandedly given birth to a new generation of Philipino superstars. It was always popular, but everyone and their uncle wants to be a boxer over there right now.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
Pac Man
No doubt the Phillipino fan base is much smaller than a Mexican-American one. But I will give you one example where it wasn’t. I was at the MGM to watch Cotto vs. Pac and there had to be 10,000 Phillipino’s there in support of Pacquiao. They took over the city. It was amazing.
I also went to Los Angeles for the Mosley-Margarito fight and the amount of Mexican-Americans in the crowd were minimal. All I am saying is, the guy has an entire nation and nationality of people who will follow him to do whatever he does. I have never seen such a loyalty to one fighter. Maybe…MAYBE Trinidad. And no one say De La Hoya. Oscar was great, but his legion of fans was made up of a lot of white America. When I saw Oscar fight Sturm, there was no huge Mexican-American following for a B level fight. Pacquiao gets that.
http://www.examiner.com/x-33584-Cleveland-Boxing-Examiner
Cleveland Boxing Examiner
by Cleveland Boxing Examiner on Mar 24, 2010 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Oscar never won over Mexican fans. I think it still bothers him, too.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 10:00 PM EDT up reply actions
It depends..
—Mayweather’s a bigger PPV draw because they are tuning in to see him lose. Fans watch Pacquiao to see him win. I don’t know if you would consider that an advantage for Mayweather.
"I do no speak of the future. Your demise is already an inescapable fact of the past. " - Aizen
"Forty have tried, all forty had a gameplan." — Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fan since 7/12/97 — 40-0-0 (25 KOs)
Mayweather Hitlist: "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao
Mayweather’s a bigger PPV draw because they are tuning in to see him lose.
This gets overstated. He’s not Gorgeous George and this isn’t 1953. No doubt Floyd does have that as part of his draw, but he also has a LOT of fans who really love him and buy his shows because of that. People like “villains” and people love winners. Floyd plays a good villain when he needs to and he’s definitely a winner.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Anytime I’ve ever heard anyone on sports talk radio discuss Mayweather (some of the callers are educated fans but most aren’t, and none of the hosts ever have a clue), none of them have ever indicated that they think of Mayweather as a villain. Rather, it has always seemed to me that the reason they find Mayweather appealing is that they have the vague impression that he’s the Tiger Woods of boxing. That is, not just the best or one of the best in the sport right now, but a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. As far as I can tell, this opinion is based mainly on stuff they heard through word-of-mouth hype.
The same people would probably view Tyson as the greatest boxer of their lifetimes.
That one drives me nuts
The same people would probably view Tyson as the greatest boxer of their lifetimes.
Tyson and Leonard. And Leonard wasn’t even the best fighter in his weight classes in his generation.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
He's like Howard Stern
He has the biggest following because a lot of people love him and a lot of people hate him.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
He is a heel when he needs to be a heel… and does a great job at it….yet he plays the face to the mainstream media and we all say he is full of shit because gullible people buy into it.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
That number doesn’t impress me with someone dubbed “fighter of the decade”. 800+ maybe.
I am one who boycotted buying this fight. For the record, I have bought Manny"s last two fights before Clottey. With both of those fights I was thinking about waiting until the following week to catch it on HBO but there was this irresistible pull on fight night that made me order them. This time not so much. I don’t know if Arum, Pac or HBO got my message by not buying the fight, but they damn sure didn’t get my “fitty”.
Every fighter has a game plan until he get's punched in the mouth.
-Mike
I wish I had your discipline
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Roy Jones Jr. was the Fighter of the 90s and he never did all that great on PPV. Of course the 90s sucked, so nevermind, fair enough.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Mar 24, 2010 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions
You know what I liked about that movie? I could really buy Marisa Tomei as a stripper. She really held herself together well, too.
"I fought Sugar Ray so much, I’m surprised I’m not diabetic."
-- Jake LaMotta
He is such a hottie… I had a g/f that looked just like her.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
She meaning Marisa Tomei
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
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