Arum disappointed with Pacquiao-Bradley 3’s PPV sales

MANILA, Philippines – Top Rank Promotions chief Bob Arum is clearly not happy with the turnout of the pay-per-view (PPV) sales of the rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr last April 9 in Las Vegas (April 10 in Manila).

Arum initially projected the 3rd encounter between Pacquiao and Bradley to deliver at least 700,000 buys in the United States via HBO, but the 12-round welterweight showdown only generated between 400,000 and 500,000 PPV hits.

The 84-year-old longtime promoter expressed his disappointment over the poor performance of the fight at the box office.

“It will be somewhere between those numbers, 400,000 and 500,000. It’s all being added up, but it will be closer to 400,000 than 500,000. Terrible,” Arum said in an interview with ESPN.

The 3rd fight’s figures are in complete contrast with Pacquiao and Bradley’s first two meetings. Their initial bout in 2012 earned 890,000 PPV hits, while the rematch in 2014 netted between 750,000 and 800,000 buys.

Arum revealed that his promotions company lost a lot of money as the payout of both boxers reached $24 million in total.

Pacquiao, who scored two knockdowns before cruising to a unanimous decision victory over Bradley, took home a guaranteed purse of $20 million. 

Bradley received $4 million in his gutsy losing effort.

“Yes, it loses money,” Arum said. “It was not one of our big successes. It happens. We’re big boys. Do I feel good about it? No.”

Arum has blamed the fight’s financial failure on Pacquiao’s lackluster outing against Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2015 and his controversial remarks on same-sex marriage.

“Certainly the pushback from Manny’s gay remarks killed us,” Arum explained. “It hurt us a lot. But I think it was also less a reaction to the match than a reaction to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. It was a reaction like Mayweather got. Mayweather also got punished [by consumers].” – Rappler.com