Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 Prize Money: Breaking Down Fight Purse and Fighter Payout

As Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs) prepares to square off against Timothy Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) on April 12th in one of the most anticipated rematches in recent memory, the focus for many fans has turned to how much money these prize fighters will make.

According to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum via Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, Pacquiao is guaranteed a $20 million pay day for the fight and Bradley is guaranteed $6 million. The payout for Pac-Man is down $6 million from the first fight while Bradley earned a $1 million raise.

Arum also claims that each man will make a percentage off the pay-per-view buys. While the exact breakdown has not been released, Mark Taffet of HBO PPV told Rafael that the first fight amassed approximately 890,000 buys.

After such a controversial ending to the first fight, the rematch should total healthy numbers.

In the first bout between Pacquiao and Bradley in June of 2012, Pac-Man was robbed in a split-decision loss. While the challenger was admittedly stronger and quicker than the champion had anticipated, there was no question that Pac-Man had done enough throughout the fight to earn the decision victory.

That was not the case in the judges’ minds.

Two of the judges in the fight scored it 115-113 for Bradley, and the other scored it 115-113 in favor of Pacquiao. The scorecards did not accurately reflect the action in the ring, and the controversy was born.

Not only did Pac-Man lose, but the hopes of a dream fight against Floyd Mayweather were also gone. It’s time for the Filipino fighter to get his revenge.

The problem for Pacquiao now is that Bradley is an improved fighter.

Instead of folding under the pressure, he has risen to the challenge and taken down both Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez since the victory. Using his elite speed and power—as well as a much-improved defense—Bradley will not be the same fighter Pac-Man faced before.

Bradley won’t be getting the same Pacquiao, either.

After the loss to Bradley, Pac-Man was knocked out in devastating fashion at the hands of Marquez. Many fans wrote his career off after the brutal ending and his two-fight losing streak, but Pacquiao pushed through.

A year away from the sport and a victory over Brandon Rios has reinvigorated the former champion’s career, and a rematch against the man that started his downfall is exactly what Pac-Man needs to climb back to the top of the mountain.

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