MANILA, Philippines - Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said the other day he wouldn’t be surprised if the May 7 bout between defending WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and challenger Sugar Shane Mosley rakes in at least 1.5 million pay-per-view buys because of the promotional support provided by Showtime and the CBS terrestrial network.
Arum, who was in the country for four days, said it’s the first time that CBS, the US’ second largest commercial network with over 200 affiliate stations, will be involved in airing a Pacquiao fight. HBO was the pay-per-view provider for Pacquiao’s last eight bouts, three of which went over one million buys.
“We signed a one-fight deal with Showtime and CBS, both of which are owned by the media conglomerate CBS Corp.,” said Arum who flew back to Las Vegas last Thursday.
“We’re excited about CBS’ tremendous promotional muscle. HBO is hooked up to 28 million homes and Showtime to 21 million but CBS, as a terrestrial network, has a reach of 115 million homes. The Saturday before the NCAA Final Four, they’re airing a half-hour special promoting the fight on prime time. And the week before the fight, a one-hour special will air also on prime time. The Final Four has an audience of about 30 million homes. So you can just imagine how many homes will be reached when the fight promotions kick in.”
Since Arum has never partnered with Showtime and CBS before, he couldn’t estimate a high limit for pay-per-view buys but was confident of breaching the one million mark and even went as far as projecting at least 1.5 million.
“If we factor in the influence of CBS, we might just set a new boxing record for pay-per-view buys,” said Arum.
Since 1991, professional boxing has registered 16 pay-per-view events with over a million buys. Pacquiao figured in three of the million sellers when he fought Oscar de la Hoya in 2008 (1.25 million), Miguel Cotto in 2009 (1.25 million) and Antonio Margarito last year (1.15 million). Mosley’s fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year registered 1.4 million buys. A bout where Mosley came close to a million buys was his rematch with De la Hoya, generating 950,000 buys in 2003.
Arum
Arum clarified that he’s not closing the door on HBO for future tie-ups. “As HBO alone, it wouldn’t be able to match what Showtime and CBS can deliver but there’s a possibility that HBO could tie up with a terrestrial network like ABC or Fox then the equation could change,” added Arum.
Arum said Pacquiao will have his hands full against Mosley but he predicts a convincing victory just the same. He visited Pacquiao in his Baguio training camp early this week and was impressed. “Manny’s in great shape and Alex (Ariza) told me he now weighs about 146 pounds,” said Arum. “Manny’s already made the welterweight limit (147). He’s just sensational.”
But Arum said Pacquiao can’t take Mosley lightly.
“Mosley is a dangerous opponent because he has one-punch knockout power and he can take a hit,” said Arum. “At his age (39), he doesn’t have the foot-speed to chase down an opponent. But he won’t be running after Manny because Manny will come charging in. Mosley won’t expend as much energy against Manny compared to fighting someone who’ll hit and run. I expect Manny to come firing away. Remember that Mosley still has his hand-speed.”
Arum pointed out that Mosley is Pacquiao’s first African-American opponent. “Most African-American fighters have great rhythm in their movement,” he said. “Mosley could pose a real challenge for Manny or anyone who’s not used to fighting an opponent with rhythm in his movement.”
Mosley has never been knocked out and his ability to absorb punishment will be put to a test.
Arum said Mosley was picked as Pacquiao’s opponent because of the tie-up with Showtime and CBS. “As we’re partnering with a terrestrial network, we wanted an American for an opponent, someone who’s English-speaking,” explained Arum. “As for (Juan Manuel) Marquez, he’s a now a free agent. His contract with Golden Boy has expired. Mosley isn’t with Top Rank but we’ve signed him for this one fight against Manny with a rematch clause if he wins. If we sign up Marquez as Manny’s opponent in November, we’ll do a rematch clause, too. You’ll never know in boxing. It’s standard practice to protect your fighters from any eventuality.”
Joaquin Henson, Philippine Star
