Pacman TV rights cost P38M

Rex "Wakee" Salud, a long-time confidant of Manny Pacquiao, yesterday confirmed that Solar Sports will pay the Filipino boxing icon $800,000 (roughly P38 million) for the rights to cover the April 14 fight with Mexican Jorge Solis on free television.

"That’s just for free TV, that does not include the upsides on closed circuits nationwide," Salud said in an interview with Philboxing.com.

ABS-CBN, the giant television network which covered Pacquiao’s last fight with Erik Morales, did not match Solar Sports’ offer since the price was already four times higher than their previous cash out, according to sources.

However, ABS-CBN earned the rights to telecast the other fight cards – the Marco Antonio Barrera-Juan Manuel Marquez clash on Sunday plus the Gerry Peñalosa versus Daniel Ponce De Leon showdown.

But ABS-CBN’s biggest catch is the May 5 superbout between Oscar De la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, which dwarfs the Pacquiao-Solis fight in terms of prestige and magnitude.

The Pacquiao-Solis telecast also serves as part of Solar Sports’ commitment to bring the world’s biggest sporting events to Filipino households.

Aside from giving the blow-by-blow accounts of the fight, the country’s leading sports channel will also cover the fighters’ training camp and hold viewing parties in malls and sports bars nationwide.

Although Solis is not in the mold of Barrera or Marquez, experts believe the unbeaten Mexican slugger remains a threat to Pacquiao.

Solis totes a 32-0-2 (win-loss-draw) record with 23 knockouts while Pacquiao packs a 43-3-2 mark with 34 KOs.