Manny Pacquiao News: Did Not Fighting Mayweather Cost Pac-Man $100 Million?

In 2009, the sports world lost an opportunity to see the best two boxers face off when Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao could not come to terms for a potential bout. According to Forbes, the loss for Pac-Man was much greater.

The business magazine reports that Pacquiao would have been $100 million richer if he had fought Mayweather a few years ago. It appeared that the fight was set, but issues with blood testing derailed any plans for the two to meet inside the ring.

In the recent article, Mike Ozanian projected that the fight would have generated more than $250 million in revenue. When the two camps originally began talking about a bout, they agreed on close to a 50-50 split of the earnings. That would have allowed Pacquiao to make nine figures for one night.

The projections for a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout are based off the money that Mayweather vs. Canelo Alavrez made on Sept.14. The fight sold 2.2 million Pay-Per-View buys and became the highest grossing boxing match of all-time. It generated $150 million in revenue on PPV, as well as $20 million at the gate. When the final tally is revealed, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Richard Shaefer says the number will exceed $200 million.

The Mayweather-Alvarez fight was highly anticipated, but nothing compared to a potential fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. When negotiations first began between the two camps, they were considered the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Mayweather had never been defeated, and Pacquiao was at the peak of his professional career, having come off a dominant victory against Miguel Cotto.

The dream bout never became a reality when Pacquiao refused to cater to Mayweather’s contract demands. Mayweather insisted that his opponent undergo Olympic-style drug testing, even though both boxers would be subject to several urine tests. It was an unprecedented move to insist on a fighter to have their blood tested before a bout. The demand forced many in the media and the sport to question whether or not Mayweather was ducking a bout with Pacquiao for fear that he would end up with a blemish on his perfect record.

A fight between the two in the future isn’t impossible. Pacquiao does not have an opponent scheduled after he faces Brandon Rios on Nov.23, and Mayweather is still looking for someone to fight in 2014. Pacquiao’s camp has insisted that he wants a fight with Mayweather, and wouldn’t have a problem with drug testing or taking a smaller cut of the revenue.

A bout between the two could still break records, but it wouldn’t be as big as it might have been a few years ago. Pacquiao seems to have lost a step after being beaten in a controversial decision to Timothy Bradley and being knocked out last December by Juan Manuel Marquez. A bout that once seemed to be even would now have Mayweather as a heavy favorite.

After Pacquiao lost his second consecutive fight, Mayweather dismissed the idea of facing Pac-Man. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, however, he indicated that something could possibly happen if Pacquiao ever decided to sign with Mayweather Promotions.