Pacquiao is darling of PPV

from: By Nick Giongco / mb.com.ph

DALLAS — The world’s pound-for-pound king weighs a shade below 150 lbs but is a  heavyweight in pay-per-view sales.

Manny Pacquiao’s rise to the top stems from his devil-may-care attitude on top of the ring, making him a favorite among buyers of pay-per-view, according to HBO’s Mark Taffet.

Taffet hails Pacquiao as having reached “super-elite status” with his impressive performance in pay-per-view shows stretching back to the rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez in March 2008.

Taffet enumerated that Pacquiao has grossed $321 million in sales on 6.25 million buys in his last six headliners.

After Pacquiao edged Marquez in a thrilling slugfest, the Filipino took on David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey.

The biggest show was the De La Hoya fight in December 2008 after it drew 1.4 million buys.

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is looking to breach the 1 million mark this Saturday when Pacquiao faces Mexican Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium, site of Pacquiao’s lopsided win over Clottey that lured more than 50,000 fans and generated 700,000 pay-per-view buys.

Arum said that Margarito’s Mexican lineage and Pacquiao’s phenomenal appeal will result in monster numbers in gate attendance and pay-per-view.