HOUSTON – Bob Arum, the Top Rank Promotions chairman, says signs are encouraging last week’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will equal the revenues earned during the third encounter between the two ring stars a year ago.
The final figures for pay-per-view (PPV) sales are not yet in, but Arum is already elated with the earnings from both satellite and gate receipts.
“Returns are excellent,” announced the Harvard-schooled lawyer turned boxing promoter. “The satellites alone did 130,000 more homes than (the Tim) Bradley (fight), and I am waiting for the cable system."
Last Tuesday, Keith Keizer of the Nevada Commission declared the fourth meeting between Pacquiao and Marquez at the MGM Grand sold 15,430 tickets, easily earning US$10,888,890 in live gate attendance.
The high numbers put Pacquiao-Marquez IV at No. 13 among the biggest fights in money earned in Nevada history, surpassing the heavyweight match between the great Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno.
Last year’s third showdown between the two ring gladiators had PPV buys of close to 1.3 million – easily the biggest of all the previous fights involving the two rivals.
Arum said he expects to approximate the same figures this time.
“At the end of the day, we’ll probably do a little less than the third fight,” said Arum, 81. “But almost as much which is great, and since we charged US$5 more, probably the equivalent amount of money.”
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