ON JAN. 21, Manny Pacquiao, the former obscure fighter from Gen. Santos City, stands to become the richest Filipino athlete of all time, although many believe he already is.
Already awash with cash after his last non-title bout against Hector Velasquez and his other bouts with Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, Pacquiao just signed a $2 million (
R124 million) contract for his next fight.
To earn that, all he has to do is step on the ring against his Mexican conqueror Morales in a grudge match at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Aside from his guaranteed prize, Pacquiao also stands to receive a slice of the pay-per-view sales and a few millions more from other related ventures.
Several top Filipino athletes have tried their luck overseas but none became as successful as Pacquiao.
Golfers Frankie Miñoza, Angelo Que, and Jennifer Rosales are currently competing in different parts of the world but their total earnings are far behind Pacquiao’s.
Even the PBA’s marquee players are no match. For instance, Kenneth Duremdes, considered the highest paid basketball player who is in the middle of an eight-year contract, would only be bringing home
R48 million at the end of that period.
That total is just in the vicinity of what Pacquiao pocketed during his encounter with Velasquez where he earned $750,000 (
P42 million) in just six rounds.
Nobody knows how much Robert Jaworski earned during his stint in the PBA, but it’s almost certain it doesn’t come near Pacquiao’s earnings which is now over $4 million (roughly
R224 million), including his rematch with Morales.
Of course, counting Jaworski’s salary and perks in his six-year stint as senator, they probably would be neck-and-neck should there be public disclosure of Jawo’s total income as player and public servant.
Pacquiao’s business associate, Wakee Salud, revealed that before they boarded the Philippine Airlines jet that took off from Los Angeles, Pacquiao signed the official fight contract and this kicked off a 100-day countdown for his first megabuck fight next year.
"A copy of the contract was shown to me (by Pacquiao)," said Salud, who arrived with the Pacquiaos, Manny and younger brother Bobby, yesterday morning.
Apart from the hefty paycheck, Pacquiao also stands to enjoy a few more luxuries such as roundtrip first-class airfare tickets from Manila, hotel suites and premium ringside seats during the fight.
Even Salud, himself a millionaire, was surprised when Pacquiao told him about the prize money and other perks.
"I was also surprised because I thought it was just $1.75 million, which was the same amount he earned when he fought Morales for the first time last March," said Salud.
In anticipation of another grueling battle, Pacquiao plans to set up training camp in Cebu sometime in mid-November with the arrival of Freddie Roach. After two weeks in the Queen City, Pacquiao and Roach are flying to the US to begin the final six weeks of training camp in Phoenix, Arizona.
Meanwhile, Salud said nothing’s definite yet on what’s next for Bobby.
"Manny and I both agreed to give Bobby a break. Let him relax and enjoy the moment. If possible, we would like to see him fight in February, that’s right after Manny’s rematch (with Morales).’
Bobby is coming off a 10-round split decision win over Carlos "Famoso" Hernandez of El Salvador.
