Manny Pacquiao’s return to boxing against Jessie Vargas brought about a fairly good number of pay-per-view buys, according to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Arum told ringtv.com via phone interview the Pacquiao vs. Vargas fight drew at least 300,000 buys, which Arum was happy about.
I think it’s a good number,” Arum said. “We’re pleased with it in the way we set it up. Everybody made a payday. You can’t expect in this environment to hit a home run every time. We’re up against the election, which meant that DirectTV and Dish and the cable systems are running election ads. But again, as long as you get a single or a double — fighters are happy with that.”
While Arum did seem pleased with the number, it is a far cry from the figures Pacquiao used to draw. No one expected his return to create a buyrate anywhere the record 4.6 million Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather drew last year, 300,000 buys is Pacquaio’s worst pay-per-view since his 2008 clash with David Diaz.
Arum did say that the pay-per-view was successful enough for Top Rank to think about doing more shows without the need for places like HBO or Showtime to carry the pay-per-view. Top Rank broadcasted the entire card, which featured four world title fights and ahd a broadcast team of former boxing commentator Brian Kenny, sports personality and journalist Stephen A. Smith and former welterweight world champion Timothy Bradley.
Pacquiao won the WBO welterweight title from Vargas with a unanimous decision victory on November 5.
