By Mark Vester
The May 2 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton, which took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, appears to be the first success in the post-Oscar De La Hoya era. More important than that, it did well in the American market and that sends a big message on how boxing has evolved because both stars are not from the United States.
Dan Rafael reports that the numbers fall around 825,000 pay-per-view buys, and could go as high as 850,000. On US soil the fight could come close to generating $50 million dollars, the live gate made $8,832,950 and there were closed-circuit ticket sales of $575,750 in Las Vegas alone.
As good as it was, it still falls short of Floyd Mayweather Jr's knockout of Hatton in December of 2007, which did 915,000 buys in the United States. That could play a major role in the possible negotiations for a future Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout. It will also depend on how well Mayweather's next fight, on July 18 against Juan Manuel Marquez, performs in America. The lead promoters, Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions, are pulling out all the stops to hype the fight by setting up a multi-city press tour that will hit California, New York and even London.
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