In a recent interview with Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV, hall of fame boxing promoter Bob Arum weighed in on a number of topics. One of those topics was the 400,000 pay-per-view buys reported by Showtime for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner fight on January 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
PAY-PER-VIEW NUMBERS
Arum had the following to say when asked what he thought about Pacquiao vs. Broner doing 400,000 pay-per-view buys. ?How do you know that they did 400,000 buys?” said Arum. Arum continued, “It?s nowheres near there. I mean, don?t use [the reported] figures. I mean, we all report buys, and there?s no accountability. And a lot of the reasons we report the buys is because the press is so insistent on it ? it?s all unreliable. Unreliable. I know for a fact that it didn?t do anywhere nears 400,000.?
Then asked if he would rate the Pacquiao vs. Broner fight as a success, Arum responded, “It depends. I thought it was a success because I didn?t have to pay for it. I mean, but if I put up $20 or 25 million for Manny Pacquiao, I would be nursing my wounds having lost a lot of money. Now if you go into a Mayweather fight, well okay, maybe you can get it back, but that?s a little bit high stakes gambling which is not in my DNA.?
You can watch the entire interview below.
When Villegas asked Arum if he had watched Pacquiao vs. Broner, Arum said, ?No, I saw clips of it though. You know, again, you know, it?s very hard to tell very much from that fight because I think for the last two or three years Broner has been more of a posture-er than a fighter.?
PACQUIAO VS. THURMAN
When the topic of Keith Thurman was brought up regarding his recent victory over Josesito Lopez and the idea of Thurman as a possible next opponent for Pacquiao, Arum, the former longtime promoter for Pacquiao said, ?Well I don?t think Keith Thurman can fight anymore. I thought he was awful with Lopez. I mean let?s be honest about it: Lopez is not an elite fighter, never was an elite fighter, and he had Thurman out of there in the 7th round. And you know Lopez is not known for knocking anybody out, and the referee could?ve very well stopped the fight in that round.?
When asked if he thought Pacquiao could still fare well against Thurman, Arum did express, ?Yeah, I think that?s a winnable fight. Yeah I do.?
It sounds like there might be some sour grapes from Arum, who promoted Pacquiao for over a decade and helped make Pacquiao a massive pay-per-view star. The relationship has been strained recently as Pacquiao had since moved on and signed with Premier Boxing Champions in advance of his fight with Adrien Broner. Top Rank in the meantime continues to be the leading promoting in the sport with no signs of slowing down.
