Roach wants 70-30 split for Pacquiao

By NICK GIONGCO June 23, 2009, 7:10pm When Freddie Roach said his No.1 fighter Manny Pacquiao deserves the lion’s share of the money against Miguel Cotto, the distinguished trainer wasn’t talking about a mere 60-40 split in favor of the Filipino pound for pound king. Roach wants much more than that. “70-30,” Roach told the Bulletin over the phone from the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. Roach noted that outside Puerto Rico, Cotto doesn’t have the same magnetism as some of the other fighters Pacquiao has fought and shamed on top of the ring the last few years. Besides, Cotto, according to Roach, is not as big pay-per-view attraction as Floyd Mayweather. Cotto posted 450,000 buys when he faced Antonio Margarito of Mexico in July last year, while Pacquiao has generated record-breaking numbers in his last two outings – 1.25 million buys against Oscar De La Hoya and close to a million versus Ricky Hatton. Roach likewise pointed out that Pacquiao deserves a bigger guarantee against Cotto compared with the $12 million-plus Pacquiao got from the Hatton bout because “we’re not supposed to be going backwards.” Roach said he is now amenable to a catch weight of 144-145 lbs for the Pacquiao-Cotto slugfest, confident that even at a higher weight, his ward would still prove superior. “One pound wouldn’t make any difference.” Top Rank chief Bob Arum is in the process of finalizing the details of the proposed Pacquiao-Cotto brawl at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Nov. 14, a date which is likely etched in stone. “We’ve told Manny about fighting on that date, and not on Oct. 17, because of the World Series,” Arum said when contacted by this paper after the conversation with Roach. “You can’t compete with free TV and baseball is big among Puerto Ricans,” stressed Arum, adding that to maximize the pay-per-view sales, the fight ought to be held in November. “We’ll be charging $50 for them to watch us and we can’t compete with free television.” In an interview with Pacquiao late Monday night in a downtown hotel in Manila, the 30-year-old southpaw told a handful of scribes that he intends to return to the ring in October and he plans to report for duty at the Wild Card in mid-August. Pacquiao said he has yet to see the proposal of Arum since his Canadian adviser, Mike Koncz, has yet to return to Manila after meeting with the Hall of Fame promoter over the weekend in Las Vegas. Pacquiao lawyer Franklin Gacal said they’ll not accept the fight if it is not 65-35 in their favor.

Comments (20)

You already saw what happened with Roach ridiculous 143 demand. This is just more of his bullshit, Pac and his team aren't listening to him. This fight will get made and both of them will make a shitload of money.

16y ago

RRICAN

im talkin about the best challenge for PAC....cotto should rematch shane for $2mil while PAC-PBF each make $15mil are you okat today????? challenge wise def cotto is more than floyd, moneywise pac will make more cheddar with floyd. i know pac will def love to fight cotto. didnt you see him in msg he looked like he wanna jump in the ring. and the ovation he received was loud as fock so he know we wanna see that fight :boxing:

16y ago

Hallaqsillaq

If I were Cotto I'd move away and deal with Mosley, Mayweather, go after Berto etc and just tell Team Pac to shove it and go find themselves another cow to milk. The reality is there is no one at 140 worth jack, Mayweather is under the weather, and Mosley is too much of a threat. Team Pac may need Cotto more than he needs them really, he has so many options, sure they may not make as much cash immediately, but his name and resume keep getting better.

16y ago

RRICAN

worried? LOL dude, floyd > cotto sure thats why floyd wants to fight cotto so bad.....:oops:

16y ago

S_A_M_U_R_A_I

LOl At this shit. Cotto brings more people than pacquiao to Arenas, and you take DLH and Hatton away, and Cotto have sell more PPVs than him too. AHit is getting annoying reallY!!!!!!! Why would you take away a fighters biggest fights? It's those fights that have really put Pacquiao on the map and he's bigger than ever. 100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3

16y ago

Sin_City

is roach scared or something? if you scared just say so.. call off the negotiations, move on to someone else.

16y ago

RRICAN

please say no miguel.....please say no i'm over this potential bout....i want PAC-PBF why??? now you worried or what? :poke:

16y ago

RRICAN

this is gonna be the never ending battle first the weight now the purse. whats next?? btw 70-30 is not as bad as some folks think :boxing:

16y ago

viewsat

70-30 is very fair. I really thought it would have been 75-25. Manny is a generous man. lol! at 70-30 Cotto would have made his biggest sum of money in his career.

16y ago

street_bully

70-30 is very fair. I really thought it would have been 75-25. Manny is a generous man.

16y ago

money4life

I think it is fair

16y ago

street_bully

I don't know that. Maybe you're right, I'm not knowledgable enough on the subject to act like I know for a fact. But my logic is that a huge part of the buys are from casual boxing fans, way more of which knew Cotto at the time. And, the dense population of the east coast has gotta result in a ton of PPV buys, all of which Cotto was responsible for. I look at it as Tony did most of the gate and most of the buys on the west coast, Cotto did the buys on the east and the majority of casuals. But neither one of us really know I guess, so it's probably a moot point. To a degree yes, but casual boxing fans dont really carry PPV's as much as advertised. Ask regular people that may buy a fight every now and then who Julio Caesar Chavez is, and then ask him who Mike Tyson or De La Hoya is. Now go to a Mexican and ask them that same question. Chavez always had good numbers, and he wasn't known to a number of average Joes. This shows that in fact the Mexicans who carry their fighters. And btw New York state on average sells much less PPV's than California. There are academic journals which state this if you want to check them out. For instance Judah is supposed to be huge in New York, and has a solid following, and could be labeled as being more popular than margarito to casual fans. However his fight with Cotto did 220 000, on the flipside the fight with Margarito did 450 000. This illustrates what I am talking about that the PPV buys from the west are what brought these numbers in.

16y ago

bodyshot

freddy...you are not a promoter or a manager...shut the fukk up and just train manny...70-30 is a fukking joke You know what though, he's just giving his opinion. Some reporter asked him a question and he gave his honest answer. It's not like he's calling press conferences to beat the drums and make demands. He knows he's not the promoter and that ultimately any decision is in Manny's hands, it's just that he's the type of guy that gives a straight answer when someone walks into his gym and asks him a question. That's why the media are on his nuts right now.

16y ago

savorduhflavor

Homie you know the majority of boxing PPV's are from the western states right. Now when a Mexican with a large support group is fighting, this number only increases. I don't know that. Maybe you're right, I'm not knowledgable enough on the subject to act like I know for a fact. But my logic is that a huge part of the buys are from casual boxing fans, way more of which knew Cotto at the time. And, the dense population of the east coast has gotta result in a ton of PPV buys, all of which Cotto was responsible for. I look at it as Tony did most of the gate and most of the buys on the west coast, Cotto did the buys on the east and the majority of casuals. But neither one of us really know I guess, so it's probably a moot point.

16y ago

street_bully

He wasn't the draw at the gate, but he carried that to 450K buys. Homie you know the majority of boxing PPV's are from the western states right. Now when a Mexican with a large support group is fighting, this number only increases.

16y ago

theAleph

Cotto is a draw in his own right. But he really has no cards to play right now. If he doesn't get the fight. He gets shut out of the welter tourney. Pac could end up with Mosley. And the winner of that fight gets to fight the winner of Floyd-Marquez. The losers of both fights eventually fight each other. All four will be involved in a 24/7 which will significantly raise their profiles. The four can basically fight each other and shut Cotto out. Cotto is that great, dangerous fighter that everyone can avoid because he doesn't bring much to the bargaining table. Cotto will continue to sell out MSG but there's nothing much else for him. He might need to fight Paul Williams at some point. If you think losing 2 pounds to fight a jr. welter is unfair to Cotto wait until he has no choice left but fight Paul.

16y ago

savorduhflavor

Wtf are you talking about? When the hell has Cotto brought anyone to Vegas? Don't even try to tell me that Cotto was the draw in the Margarito fight, because he was not. He wasn't the draw at the gate, but he carried that to 450K buys.

16y ago

street_bully

LOl At this shit. Cotto brings more people than pacquiao to Arenas, and you take DLH and Hatton away, and Cotto have sell more PPVs than him too. AHit is getting annoying reallY!!!!!!! Wtf are you talking about? When the hell has Cotto brought anyone to Vegas? Don't even try to tell me that Cotto was the draw in the Margarito fight, because he was not.

16y ago

fcastro1

He doesn't deserve 70 percent. how does he not deserve 70 percent. cotto will still get the biggest paycheck of his career. he is on top of the sport.

16y ago

FeFist

he is looking out for the best interest for pac. he done it when murad muhammed was f##kin him up. he is going to retire soon so why not make the most and get what he deserves. He doesn't deserve 70 percent.

16y ago