source: Abac Cordero - philstar.com

DALLAS – Manny Pacquiao is now a certified billionaire, based on his earnings on the ring.

Counting his guaranteed purse $12 million for his fight with Joshua Clottey at the Cowboys Stadium, the 31-year-old icon has reached the $53 million mark in his last four fights in the United States.

And while it doesn’t mean that he has taken home as much, since there are huge deductions to be computed, what’s certain is that Pacquiao is now rated as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

Pacquiao, who said he earned the equivalent of $20 in his first professional fight in 1995, got $15 million for facing Oscar dela Hoya in 2008, and $13 million for each fight against Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto last year.

With these four fights alone, he has earned, on paper, a grand total of P2.438 billion, which is enough to fund a presidential campaign in the Philippines.

Aside from his guaranteed purse, Pacquiao also stands to earn through the pay-per-view sales, ticket sales, gate receipts, merchandise and television rights. For the Dela Hoya fight, he earned close to $20 million in all.
And this won’t stop as long as he continues winning.

Before the Clottey fight was sealed, Pacquiao faced the possibility of earning as much as $30 million to $40 million for a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. But the negotiations fell apart and the fight did not push through.
Now that Clottey is out of the picture, the question is “Will the Mayweather fight now happen?”

Pacquiao said it might.

“Yes, I want the fight. The people want that fight. So, it’s up to him,” said Pacquiao of the ex-pound-for-pound champion who puts his undefeated record at stake against WBA welterweight king Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

“I have no problem fighting him. Anytime. But I don’t think he’s ready now. Or he should win against Mosley. If not, maybe Mosley and I will fight,” said Pacquiao.

The Pacquiao-Mayweather fell apart after the flamboyant American demanded an Olympic-style drug-testing that would require blood tests on days very close to the fight.

Pacquiao said he’d have none of it, saying drawing of blood close to the fight makes him weak, and offered a compromise that blood be taken 24 days before the fight and right after the fight.

And the fight that should break all previous records in boxing went up in smoke.

Pacquiao earnings through the years

1. Lehlo Ledwaba	2001	$40,000
2. Agapito Sanchez	2001	$120,000
3. Fabbrakob Rakkiatgym	2002	P1 million
4. Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov	2003	P1 million
5. Jorge Julio	2002	$70,000
6. Marco Antonio Barrera	2003	$500,000
7. Juan Manuel Marquez	2004	$750,000
8. Fashan 3K Battery	2004	P3 million
9. Erik Morales	2005	$1.75 million
10. Hector Velasquez	2005	$750,000
11. Erik Morales	2006	$2 million
12. Oscar Larios	2006	$1 million
13. Erik Morales	2006	$2.5 million
14. Jorge Solis	2007	$2 million
15. Marco Antonio Barrera	2007	$3 million
16. Juan Manuel Marquez	2008	$3 million
17. David Diaz	2008	$3 million
18. Oscar dela Hoya	2008	$15 million
19. Ricky Hatton	2009	$13 million
20. Miguel Cotto	2009	$13 million
21. Joshua Clottey	2010	$12 million