Pacquiao-Bradley rematch doesn't break one million in pay-per-view buys

In his heyday, Manny Pacquiao averaged 1.1 million pay-per-view buys per fight. (Jed Jacobsohn/SI) Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley’s welterweight title

In his heyday, Manny Pacquiao averaged 1.1 million pay-per-view buys per fight. (Jed Jacobsohn/SI)

Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley’s welterweight title fight last month generated between 775,000 and 800,000 pay per view buys, multiple sources familiar with the numbers told SI.com. 

HBO, which produced and distributed the pay per view, declined comment.

The number is a significant improvement for Pacquiao from his last fight. Last November, Pacquaio’s bout against Brandon Rios generated 475,000 buys. The low number was attributed, in part, to the fight being held in Macau, absent a strong U.S. media presence. Pacquiao-Bradley was a rematch of their controversial 2012 fight. Though there was little demand for a rematch then --most thought Pacquiao won the fight comfortably -- Bradley’s strong 2013, which included wins over Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez, increased the demand for it. 

GALLERY: Best images from the Pacquiao-Bradley bout

Still, the pay per view number for Pacquiao-Bradley II represents another dip from the buys Pacquiao produced in his prime years. In the seven fights before the first Bradley fight, Pacquiao averaged 1.1 million buys per fight. The first fight between Pacquiao and Bradley generated 890,000 buys, per HBO. Some have argued that Pacquiao’s diminishing power -- he has not knocked out an opponent in his last eight fights -- is a factor, as is the rapidly fading possibility of a showdown with Floyd Mayweather.  -- Chris Mannix