Arum sees impressive PPV hits

HOUSTON – If there’s one thing that makes Bob Arum smile the past couple of days then it has something to do with numbers.

Arum said Wednesday the early feedback he’s been getting regarding satellite feeds and pay-per-view sales have been pretty excellent.

The 17,000-seat MGM Grand was packed for the memorable fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as the closed-circuit venues.

“It’s hard to go the other way. You always have to go up. It’s beautiful,” said Arum.

“Returns are excellent. The satellites (customers) alone did a 130,000 more homes than (Timothy) Bradley and I’m waiting for the cable system,” he said.

Arum is confident that the pay-per-view sales for the recent fight will stand as one of the great ones involving Pacquiao.

“I think at the end of the day, we’ll probably do a little less than the third fight,” said the Top Rank chief, referring to the nearly 1.3 million hits for Pacquiao vs Marquez Part 3.

“But almost as much which is great, and since we charged $5 more ($59.95 per hit), it will probably be the equivalent amount of money,” he said.