Bob Arum is one of the most successful promoters in boxing history. A quick Google search indicates his net worth currently resides at $200 million. The native New Yorker has been a promoter of the sweet science for over three decades. Through years of experience, Arum probably has a better grasp of forecasting PPV sales than most people.
He has recently made a surprising prediction regarding PPV sales for the Pacquiao-Algieri bout. He claimed it will sale, “anywhere between 750K to 900K.”
His reasoning behind this prognostication is, “Chris Algieri is getting the type of publicity […] which we never had before.”
Arum stated, “I don’t remember ever, I’m sure the Ali days was different, but I don’t remember recently, […] a fight getting an article in the New Yorker magazine the way this one has.”
Arum also went on to say Algieri might be a more popular fighter than Bradley due to his appearances on television. This is why he believes Algieri-Pacquaio will have a similar amount of success as Pacquiao-Bradley II.
“If you ask people who watch Fox Business News, where Algieri has been on numerous occasions, which fighter they knew better Chris Algieri or Timothy Bradley, they would say Chris Algieri. So while it’s true among fight fans Algieri may not be as well known as an established guy as Tim Bradley, […] more of the public knows Algieri than they do most fighters. Therefore I think it [will] do a number similar to what we did on a Tim Bradley fight, which is anywhere between 750K to 900K.”
Whether this bout will live up to Arum’s expectations remains to be seen. If Arum is correct, it will be a remarkable feat given the fact some of the major media members were discrediting this fight as soon as it was officially announced.
