Right after Manny Pacquiao's November 24 win over Brandon Rios which earned him the WBO international welterweight title and garnered a PPV buyrate of only 500,000, speculation has been swirling around on who Pacquiao's next opponent will be.
According to Scott Christ of BadLeftHook, the Pacquiao's win over Rios didn't move the needle in the build-up, as the fight was Pacquiao's lowest buy rate since 2008. Pacquiao's fights are not just about the opponents or the gates, but also, and more importantly, about pay per view buys. There is not another fight where the boxing fans are itching to witness either in the stadium or on the hi-definitation PPV telecast -- Paquiao vs Mayweather fight.
The awaited dream match between Pacquiao and Mayweather has gotten an unexpected boost and may now be nearer to materialize than ever before. In a surprising move, the WBC has installed Pacquiao as its top contender of the welterweight division in its latest rankings replacing previous No. 1 Luis Abregu of Argentina. And guest what? Floyd Mayweather Jr is the current WBC welterweight champion.
According to Tempo's Nick Giongco, the inclusion of Pacquiao to the WBC welterweight class is so sudden since Paquiao wasn’t even rated in the last rankings that were released during the boxing body’s annual convention in Bangkok last month.
The WBC may be in the process of preparing for the much awaited megafight by making Pacquiao the number contender to Mayweather's throne.
It is also possible that Golden Boy Promotions, who promote all of Mayweather's fights, may have a hand in the rankings since it works closely with the WBC. Showtime, which has a TV contract with Mayweather, may also be working behind the scenes to make the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight possible.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, told BoxingScene.com that if Bob Arum, Top Rank’s CEO, wants Mayweather-Pacquiao, then make Top Rank should make Pacquiao available and Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions will take care of everything.
On the other hand, Top Rank, which has a promotional contract with Pacquiao and works with Showtime's rival HBO, might be also working behind the scene to make the fight happen possibly in 2014.
Arum has announced during his interview with USA Today that his company was ready and willing to make Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown.
“We’ve announced we’re willing to make anything happen. Now somebody has got to contact us so we can sit down and explore how it can happen. Isn’t that the way normal people deal? You can’t wave a wand. I’ve said unequivocally, we’re ready to sit down and see if a deal can be reached,” Arum said.
Pacquiao-Mayweather is still the biggest money fight in the history of boxing that the world awaits.
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