Will Floyd Mayweather Score a Knockout over Manny Pacquiao on PPV Buys?

Less than a month before Manny Pacquiao squares off with Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev., HBO is now reporting the Mayweather vs. Cotto fight registered 1.5 million buys, generating at least $94 million in revenues, according to Fytehype.

While the Pacquiao vs. Bradley PPV numbers are expected to reach more than a million hits, it seems doubtful the fight will surpass the reported 1.5 million buys for the Mayweather-Cotto fight.

Mayweather has acknowledged the support of fans for the high PPV turnout. In his official Twitter page, the unbeaten champion said 1.5 million on PPV is simply amazing.

"Thank you to everybody for spending your hard-earned money on PPV last weekend. 1.5 million on PPV is amazing. I appreciate your support," Mayweather said.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, has yet to comment on the reported 1.5 million buys generated by the Mayweather vs. Cotto fight last May 5.

It may be recalled that Arum was expecting a 1.4 million in PPV buys for the Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight but according to reports  the number was closer to 1.3 million.   He said Pacquiao-Mosley generated more than $75 million in television revenue

For the Pacquiao-Marquez fight, Arum expected a PPV count of 1.6 million but ABS-CBN News reported a figure of 1.4 million. The official figure coming from Arum is yet to be officially confirmed.

Seemingly the Pacquiao vs. Bradley match scheduled for June 9 won't surpass the PPV generated by the Mayweather vs. Cotto fight. But Arum is yet to launch a promotional blitz to drum up his PPV campaign and he has almost a month to do it.

It is worth noting though that the Mayweather-Cotto fight had a top-notch line up on its undercard which included Shane Mosley and Canelo Alvarez. Fans are saying the high PPV numbers were made possible because of the undercard attraction.

The undercard for the Pacquiao vs. Bradley match included Mike Jones vs. Randall Bailey in the main card and is supported by Jorge Arce vs. Jesus Roxas with Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Teon Kennedy.

Apparently, the line up does not include a high-profile PPV draw who could at least match the undercard lineup of the Mayweather vs. Cotto fight.

Except for Mike Jones and Jorge Arce, the rest in the supporting card are not known PPV draws, which will make it even harder for Arum to surpass the 1.5 million generated by the Mayweather vs. Cotto match.