Trunks of cash

MANILA — Manny Pacquiao’s boxing shorts tell a story of their own. From boasting just one advertiser at the start of his professional career, his trunks will generate about $2.5 million in the bout with Floyd Mayweather this weekend, according to sports analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz. “Look at the shorts, and you will realize how influential he has become.” Once a poor teenager who used to fight for a purse of $3.39, 36-year-old Pacquiao is set to receive 40 per cent of about $300 million revenue for the Saturday fight. His shorts alone will earn for him more than 20 times the $330,000 he garnered from branding on his trunks a decade ago. At least six companies have bought space on the pants for this bout. Smart Communications Inc., the biggest mobile-phone company in the Philippines, will be on Pacquiao’s pants for the first time, its logo displayed below the waistband at the back, spokesman Ramon Isberto said, declining to say how much the company paid. Bloomberg