Manny Pacquiao’s slambang farewell fight against Tim Bradley only drew 450,000 buys, figures that pale in comparison with their first two meetings in 2012 and 2014.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum sounded disappointed as he thought that the April 9 third fight would draw north of 800,000, numbers that will rank alongside the first two matches.
Ringsiders believe that Pacquiao’s anti-gay remarks and the thought that he and Bradley are going at it for the third time could be factors why the 84-year-old Arum didn’t hit his target.
“It is what it is,” Arum told ringtv.com.
Pacquiao is among the greatest pay-per-view performers in the history of the fight game and his super fight with Floyd Mayweather last year generated a staggering 4.4 million subscriptions. The gate receipts – over $70 million – was likewise record-breaking.
Pacquiao’s other big hits came against Oscar Dela Hoya in 2008, Miguel Cotto in 2009, Juan Manuel Marquez in 2011 and 2012, Shane Mosley in 2011 and Antonio Margarito in 2010.
After the Bradley brawl held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao announced he was retiring from boxing so he can focus on his new role as a public official and also devote more of his time to family matters.