Trouble Mounts for Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios PPV Sales After Canelo vs. Crawford Confirmed on Netflix

Ten years ago, a record was set. It’s yet to be broken. On May 2, 2015, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao marched into boxing history. Though their fight didn’t live up to expectations, where it did succeed was in making a monstrous amount of money. Priced at $89.95 each, over 4 million pay-per-views (PPV) were sold, generating an astronomical $400 million in revenue. Cut to circa 2025.

The PPV story, as it appears, may have outlived the central cast. Mayweather has long retired, and PacMan is back in action. However, to watch his comeback fight against Mario Barrios, fans will have to shell out $79.99 to buy the PPV. Four years after he suffered a loss to Yordenis Ugas, the boxing great decided to end his retirement and enter the ring for yet another title claim. Given his age and form, concerns over his return are widespread. Now the steep price of the PPV may cause further heartburn. Rubbing salt in the wound, Netflix would air the upcoming Canelo Alvarez–Terence Crawford fight under regular subscription charges. Probably speaking for many fans, boxing insider Rick Glaser lashed out at the sheer disparity.

Pacquiao-Barrios vs. Canelo-Crawford

The New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) inductee was in no mood to mince words. “79.99 to buy the Barrios-Pacquiao PPV is absolutely comical!” He began. Taking his usual potshots at Al Haymon’s PBC, Glaser felt the decision-makers at PBC perhaps don’t understand what boxing fans actually want or can afford. “How do PBC Excutives come up with these crazy, wacky PPV prices? They’re so out of touch with boxing fans’ demands,” he fired. Adding insult to injury, a much bigger fight, Canelo vs. Crawford, is being shown on Netflix instead of PPV. Likely included in the regular subscription, it makes PBC’s price look even worse.

79.99 to buy the Barrios-Pacquiao PPV is absolutely comical! How do PBC Excutives come up with these crazy whacky PPV prices, they’re so out of touch with Boxing fans demand. And with the just announced bigger than life Canelo-Crawford not on PPV, but on @Netflix, the timing of…

— Rick Glaser (@RealRickGlaser1) June 11, 2025

“That’s Boxing the PBC way,” Glaser delivered a parting shot. Invariably, a heated discussion ensued. A few users called out Riyadh Season for charging $60 for the Cinco de Mayo events in New York and Riyadh. So Glaser clarified, “Most thought those 2 events were going to be excellent fights with big names. They failed to deliver that.”

Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between?

The study could use a more refined lens

Notwithstanding the skepticism surrounding the Pacquiao-Barrios fight, the fact remains that the PBC-Amazon Prime card of July 19 showcases some mouthwatering matchups. On one hand, you have the rematch between Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu; another undercard features the second fight between Isaac Cruz and Angel Fierro. Both pairs would be more than eager to build on the thrilling encounters they delivered in previous editions.

For now, full undercard details of the Canelo-Crawford clash are yet to emerge. However, the event, scheduled on September 13 in Las Vegas, is backed by the Riyadh Season-TKO Boxing combine. With substantial financial resources and extensive access to infrastructure and facilities, they might have worked out that the regular Netflix subscription should suffice to broadcast the big showdown. There’s no point in charging a fan an additional penny.

So, while a comparison between the two events is unavoidable. The study should be more nuanced, perhaps.

What about you? Could the Pacquiao-Barrios fight have benefited from an approach similar to that used for Canelo-Crawford?

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