Is Floyd Mayweather's latest pay-per-view success the nail in the coffin for Mayweather/Pacquiao? Has Golden Boy Promotions contacted Paul Williams to face off against Saul Alvarez this September? Why is Chad Dawson giving up so much leverage to Andre Ward? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this week's edition of "From Pillar to Post."
Manny Pacquiao Can Kiss 50/50 Goodbye
Now that the numbers for Mayweather/Cotto have been released, the conversation once again turns to what can be done to make Mayweather/Pacquiao a reality. After three years of frivolous negotiations, it seems the only thing that's left to discuss was the only thing the two fighters actually agreed on back in 2009: how the money gets divided.
Pacquiao went from saying he'd accept a smaller cut to hard-lining Mayweather on a 50/50 split, but after Mayweather/Cotto, there really isn't any leeway for Pacquiao on this one considering that Mayweather has yet again secured a higher pay-per-view number and paycheck against a common opponent. Mayweather/Cotto did 1.5 million buys compared to the 1.25 million buys for Pacquiao/Cotto, and Mayweather received a purse of $32 million whereas Pacquiao only received a $7.4 million purse for what was both fighters' biggest paydays to date (in terms of bout contracts). To go even further, Cotto received a 20% split of the purse and made $8 million for the fight, which is more than Pacquiao has had on a contract.
Now I've always been an advocate for an equal split of the purse, but there's no way that Pacquiao can rationalize 50/50 when you consider the above facts. Back in 2009, Pacquiao was coming off of three very strong pay-per-view performances when Mayweather came back from exile and was willing to accept 50/50 as well as Pacquiao's demands for smaller gloves and a smaller ring, but that fell apart due to the demand for random drug tests that have since been resolved (or so they say). That was the only time that fight could have been made and it has shown in the countless attempts afterwards.
Pacquiao's upcoming fight with Timothy Bradley is being very passively promoted by Top Rank, perhaps a sign that the expectations of the event is significantly less than his previous fights. Potential follow up fights such as a fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez or Top Rank's current darling, Brandon Rios, don't seem like they will perform as well as fights past. So if Pacquiao's next pay-per-views are to perform below expectations, then there really is no way he can be offered any more than 40%.
Complicating things even further is Pacquiao's entry in the "did he or didn't he say" this week when Pacquiao decided to voice his opinion on same-sex marriages. Even though the report was allegedly taken out of context, it doesn't really help the fact that there are a lot of pissed off men and women that didn't read the correction notice, and that this single incident has gotten more press and hype than Pacquiao's upcoming pay-per-view. Unfortunately, there will be more posturing and "talks" in the months following, but as long as Pacquiao insists on 50/50, he might as well say in regards to the fight, "No, thank you."
Saul Alvarez vs. Paul Williams Possible For September
As I had theorized on my Twitter last week, James Kirkland isn't very keen on facing Saul Alvarez on the proposed September 15 pay-per-view card, as it will be right off Kirkland's rehabilitation for a shoulder injury suffered in his pitiful performance against Carlos Molina. There have been a lot of talks of a potential fight between Alvarez and former Welterweight champion Paul Williams to fit the bill, and I am all for it. Williams rebounded from his awful "win" against Erislandy Lara last year with a dominant point decision over spoiler Nobuhiro Ishida and is far and away the most capable and toughest challenger that the Wendy's hamburger girl has ever fought.
Williams hasn't been busy since the February win over Ishida, but is hoping to land a meaningful fight soon, and a fight with Alvarez is certainly the kind of fight he'd step out for. Golden Boy doesn't expect this pay-per-view to be massive in terms of buy rates, but if they do 300k buys, it'll be considered a big success for them as they're trying to develop Alvarez into a pay-per-view star. Put Lara on the undercard versus the winner of the Cornelius Bundrage/Cory Spinks rematch and you got yourself a pretty decent card.
Chad Dawson's Ill-advised Position on Ward Clash
Since Chad Dawson defeated Tomasz Adamek in 2008 to become the Light Heavyweight champion of the world, Dawson has faced off against the likes of Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins, cementing his position as the best Light Heavyweight champion of the world. Dawson's problem however is that in spite of his skills, he's not a very exciting fighter to watch and has been in his share of boring fights over the years. Despite that, I can't fathom why Dawson is so easily giving away leverage to Andre Ward in regards to a potential September fight.
Yes. I know Dawson said it after he beat Hopkins, but that's even more perplexing to me. Dawson will probably have to take the lesser share of the purse, fight in Oakland, AND move down in weight. That's not what Marvin Hagler did when he fought Tommy Hearns or what Pernell Whittaker did when he fought Juilo Cesar Chavez. I'm looking forward to the fight as I thought it would've been interesting seeing how Ward would do against a bigger man in Dawson, but now I'm hoping Dawson doesn't lose his fight on the scale before he steps into the ring.
Danny Howard can be reached for comments or questions at dhoward@fighthype.com, Facebook, or follow him on Twitter (@DBHOWARD126). Also don't miss an episode of FightHype Radio, the baddest two hours of boxing on the planet, starting at 8pm EST.