Bad Left Hook reports on the bidding war taking place to air the November 12th Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight. Pacquiao’s legal counsel is requesting that Pacquiao have a say in choosing the network.
HBO has made a proposal to Bob Arum and Top Rank which Arum says is a blockbuster. Arum will now field Showtime’s proposal for the fight.
According to Bad Left Hook, HBO will win the battle:
HBO is rolling out the red carpet for the Mayweather vs Ortiz fight on September 17, and have the available money and resources to lock down the other “big event” fight this fall, which is of course the Pacquiao fight. HBO was stung by losing Pacquiao’s last fight to Showtime earlier this year, a move that stunned most in and around boxing, as Showtime had not put on a major PPV boxing event in years. The experiment was a success, but in the end it could simply result in HBO upping the ante and knocking Showtime back down a peg.
Payout Perspective:
It will be interesting who will win the bidding war. Bad Left Hook speculates that the bidding war could see Showtime throwing in a network TV fight on CBS in the future. HBO will be using all of the resources of Time Warner to promote the fight if it lands it. Arum estimated that the proposals would be around $15 million. While Pacquiao’s counsel has requested to have a say in the negotiations, its unlikely that Pacquiao’s input will block any potential deal.
Go with Showtime. Especially if they throw a CBS event in the mix. A no brainer.
BB,
I miss network boxing on CBS. But, I do like the HBO broadcast team better.
It’s unfortunate that the bidding war to promote the fight will likely be far more epic than the fight itself.
MV: I agree. I think Ortiz-Mayweather may be more intriguing a fight considering Ortiz is a much younger, dangerous fighter. In the end, Mayweather will outclass Ortiz, but it will be close.