PPV hits gross modest $12.5 M

The Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz title bout held in Las Vegas last week drew close to 250,000 hits on pay-per-view, according to Top Rank Promotions president Bob Arum.

“It was okay but not great,” the ageless promoter told a Filipino scribe of the pay-per-view sales that were released exactly a week after Pacquiao scored the sensational win.

The numbers paled in comparison to the 400,000 hits generated worldwide by Pacquiao’s 12-round showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez last March also in Las Vegas. The sales reached over $20 million.

Pacquiao’s three classic fights with Erik Morales drew a combined sales of 1 million pay-per-view hits.

Each hit is worth $49.95 and with close to 250,000 hits sales would reach around $12.5 million. After HBO and Top Rank get their share, the boxers will get theirs depending on what’s stated in the contract.

Pacquiao, the main draw, will get the lion’s share.

The crowd attendance during the fight held at the Events Center of Mandalay Bay wasn’t that great either. With a seating capacity of 12,000 official records showed an attendance of 8,362.

Promoters blamed the failure to pack the venue to the rising cost of gasoline prices as the ordinary fight fan coming in from as far as California would need a few hundred bucks for gasoline to get to Vegas.

Meanwhile, Arum is still hoping that he could find a Las Vegas venue for the planned Nov. 8 match between Pacquiao and Venezuelan knockout artist Edwin Valero. 

Arum was informed the other day that the MGM Mirage group cannot accommodate the fight because of two big promotions around the date Arum wants.

There’s the Nov. 22 fight between Ricky Hatton and Paul Malignaggi and the Dec. 6 farewell fight of Oscar dela Hoya. Both fights are set at the MGM Grand, and officials think that it’s not a wise decision to bring in another promotion involving Pacquiao around those dates.

Arum said he’s now looking at the Thomas and Mack Center, where Pacquiao fought Morales twice, or Planet Hollywood.

An Internet report, however, quoted Thomas and Mack director Daren Libonati saying that his facility “wouldn’t work” for a Nov. 8 date because the Professional Bull Riders finals on that night, and a game featuring the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on the 15th.

“We’re aggressively looking for a date that works for Bob and, potentially, Planet Hollywood,” Libonati said in the report, adding that an October date can be considered.