Bob Arum sees complete sellout

LOS ANGELES — Bob Arum, the legendary boxing promoter, knows what blockbuster fights are made of. The coming fight between Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales, he said, will be no different from the rest.

"I think this is going to be the best of the three fights because Erik’s conditioning for this fight has been tremendous, and Manny’s in the best shape that he’s been," he said Thursday.

Arum, the promoter of the Nov. 18 trilogy between the two spectacular fighters, said in a brief interview at the Wild Card Gym that 14,000 tickets to the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas have been sold.

And with still eight days before fight, Arum expects all the remaining tickets, around 3,000 more, to be out of the booths and into the hands of die-hard fight fans.

"We’ve sold 14,000 tickets and that means there’s close to 3,000 left. We’ve been selling 400 tickets a day and I’m very, very pleased. It should be a great fight. The card is very good," Arum said.

Arum dropped by at the gym to watch Pacquiao train. With what he saw, the man who tried or is still trying to lure the Filipino boxing sensation into his fold expects a blockbuster.

"I think it’s going to be a fight for history. I really believe that. It is going to be the most people in a fight since the Camacho-Chavez which sold out the Thomas and Mack Arena," he said.

He was referring to the Hector Camacho vs Julio Cesar Chavez brawl that took place years ago, and remains one of the most exciting fights in boxing history.

"It looks like that this fight is going to be a complete sellout. Not one seat left. If that’s the case we’ll equal the Camacho-Chavez," added Arum, who also promotes Morales. — Abac Cordero