Could Declining Interest in Manny Pacquiao Lead to Endorsements Downturn?

Manny Pacquiao's popularity continues to soar even in times of defeat, as shown in his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley last June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.

In a brief shocking moment after the ring announcer broke the unpopular judges' decision before millions of fans around the world who were watching the fight, Pacquiao, who was visibly shocked upon hearing the verdict, managed to smile and immediately accepted the judges' decision.

Pacquiao's gesture of sportsmanship in accepting defeat has even made him more popular among loyal fans and the general public as well.

But in the past several weeks, sportswriters and bloggers have noticed an apparent disappointment and lack of interest among boxing fans and supporters in his next fight, which has long been scheduled to happen on November 10 as announced previously by his promoter Bob Arum.

It seemed Arum has taken Pacquiao's fans and supporters on a roller-coaster ride by making announcements about Pacquiao's next foe and changing of dates for the fight.

Arum has promised to make the official fight date and to name Pacquiao's next opponent on several occasions, but days and weeks have passed without officially making the announcement.

Many comments by viewers on articles about Pacquiao's ring return have indicated they have lost interest in the fight. Viewer's passive interest can be traced to the same old news about the fight which is seemingly caused by Arum's inability to explain why he failed to kept his promise to make the announcement.

It may be recalled Arum has promised to make the announcement on several weekends; the latest was last weekend.

According to ABS-CBN News, Bob Arum told Brad Cooney of 8countnews.com that Pacquiao has finally chosen his next opponent, but he declined to reveal his name, saying an official announcement will be made over the weekend.

It would have been acceptable if Arum or his public affairs staff explained the reason why the weekend's promised disclosure did not take place. Boxing fans would likely understand the reason for the failed announcement if they knew what was causing the delay.

Either Arum is up to his neck with the mounting schedules of his fighters or he simply forgot to give instructions to his public affairs staff.

It is also possible Pacquiao is stalling because of the Mayweather fight prospect for early next year, which would be understandable.

Be that as it may, there is need to keep the fans and supporters informed of the details of the fight. After all, they are the ones paying to keep the fights financially viable for the fighters and promoters.

In the case of Pacquiao, continued negative publicity brought about by the inability of his promoter to keep the public informed could cause his endorsement downturn in the months ahead.

It is public knowledge that endorsements are an important source of income for Pacquiao on top of his guaranteed purse and pay-per-view revenue.