Mayweather vs Pacquiao: The Billion Dollar Fight moves a step closer

Say it slowly: One. Billion. Dollars.That is the mind-blowing value now being placed upon the boxing match the world has long been desperate to see.Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather can become the single richest event in sporting history and the enormity of the prize will surely be enough to break down the barriers which have prevented it from taking place thus far.This bonanza is being made possible by the prospect of the first pay-per-view fight broadcast in China.Promoter Bob Arum is predicting a subscription television audience in the People’s Republic in excess of 100 million. That would generate double the $300million which is being projected as the US pay-TV value of the Fight of the Century.Yet the key to unlocking this treasure chest is not in the hands of the PacMan or the man who calls himself Money.Arum is priming this enormous market by taking Pacquiao to Macau – the Portuguese version of Hong Kong - to headline promotions which also showcase Chinese boxing hero Zou Shiming.This 33-year-old has acquired iconic celebrity status in China by winning Olympic gold at home in Beijing in 2008 and retaining his title at London 2012.After starting his professional career with five straight wins Shiming is closing in on a challenge for the world flyweight title, for which his Saturday bout at the Cotai Arena is being billed as a final eliminator.Arum says: ‘Shiming is the driving force for taking pay-per-view into China. They idolise him and hundreds of millions have been watching him on regular television. Combine his appeal with Pacquiao-Mayweather and we are looking at numbers undreamed of before.’Arum knows he will have to modify pay-per-view charges for the Chinese mainland.‘We’re looking at $5 a buy,’ he says.Cheap, compared with the near $100 which will be the price in America. But multiply five dollars by one-tenth of the Chinese population of 1.36 billion and the figures amount to a phenomenal $650m.A one per cent figure is the rule of thumb for the US (population 319 million) on Showtime or HBO – or both sharing as they did for Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis.At $95 a buy - and a pay-TV record there in excess of three million viewers – and you exceed the $300m target.Then comes the site fee from the host arena.Macau is now the Las Vegas of the East, with all the major casinos on the Strip now operating and the high rollers from China helping push revenue above Nevada levels.The Venetian Macao is hosting its second PacMan fight so expect a bidding war between the two giant gaming destinations, with the MGM Grand Garden – Mayweather’s preferred home-town venue - pitching for Vegas.Bakudaily.Az