By Jake Donovan
The fourth showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez comes with the most expensive price tag of the series, with a suggested retail price of $59.95.
It also comes with its greatest available rebate.
Tecate Beer – the event’s leading sponsor – offers a rebate of up to $50 for those who are planning to purchase the pay-per-view telecast, which airs live on December 8 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Three different rebate levels are offered - $30, $40 and $50, depending on the amount of Tecate or Tecate Light beer purchased. All rebates are contingent on proof of purchase of Tecate product and the pay-per-view event.
Full details of the rebate can be found here: http://www.tecateboxing.com/rebate/rebate/pdfs/Pacquiao%20vs%20Marquez%20PPV%20Rebate%20-%20AZ,%20CA,%20NV,%20NM.pdf
Tecate has proven itself to be among the sport’s biggest supporters, with its PPV rebate program dating as far back as 2007. It has been on board for most of Manny Pacquiao’s pay-per-view appearances for the past several years, including his controversial points loss to Tim Bradley this past June.
Past deals prior to 2012 have offered rebates as much as $25, which exceeds the average cost of even a case of Tecate. This forthcoming event marks the third straight show in which Tecate offers at least $30 or more in rebates.
Consumers were able to recover as much as $40 from the Bradley-Pacquiao pay-per-view-event. The September 15 pay-per-view card headlined by Sergio Martinez’ thrilling points win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. came with a rebate package similar to what is offered for this card.
“(Tecate has) been the leading sponsor of the last two fights between Juan Manuel and Manny,” reveals Hall-of-Fame promoter Bob Arum. “They consider the fourth encounter to be the most important of all of the fights.”
The third fight between Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38KO) and Marquez (54-6-1, 39KO) came with a $25 rebate from Tecate, with the pay-per-view feed sold at $54.95. Pacquiao escaped with a majority decision that was lustily booed by the sold-out crowd at the MGM Grand, the same host for Part IV in December.
Pacquiao is currently 2-0-1 in the series, taking a split decision win in their March ’08 fight, which came nearly four years after their 12-round draw in May ’04. The second and third fights both took place in front of sold out crowds. The third fight drew 1.4 million buys, Pacquiao’s highest pay-per-view total to date.
Tecate’s rebate plan was first popularized by the May ’07 showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar de la Hoya, which remains the highest-grossing event of all time in terms of pay-per-view sales and live gate. The rebate has been a popular promotional tool ever since, though mostly used by Top Rank in recent years.
“Tecate has been a huge help for all pay-per-view events, no matter the promoter,” Arum acknowledges of its leading sponsor.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
