Buttery Bob Arum concedes: Mayweather, Pacquiao are PPV A-Sides

Butter wouldn’t melt in the sweet talking mouth of Uncle Bob Arum as he discussed the HBO reported one million pay per view TV buys for the Juan Manuel Marquez-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight Friday afternoon.

After 40 years, I pretty much know the Top Rank Top Honcho like a book and I figured that, instead of unleashing an acidic tirade, he would go all Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm on the topic.

Why, you ask? Simply because, as Arum admitted, the Sept. 19 PPV numbers are in the mutual interest of Top Rank and its fighting on Nov. 14 clients, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Angel Cotto.

All I heard over the phone from his Batcove in Las Vegas were cheers sans jeers for the figures cited for Juan Ma-Money May.

“It’s all to the good,” Arum said. “It’s good for the category of boxing, it’s even better and I must say I enjoyed this part, they kicked the bleep out of the MMA event (UFC 103, Franklin-Belfort from Dallas) by a 4-1 margin.

“I’m just licking my chops now in anticipation of what Manny and Miguel can do on Nov. 14.

“It shows you the vitality of boxing when you take what is viewed as a competitive fight and have good publicity, great media coverage and even taking on the UFC…UFC doesn’t hurt boxing, really, because it’s a different audience, a rural audience. That’s where their numbers come from, from non-urban audiences,” Arum said.

I tried to corner Arum on the idea that, frankly speaking, boxing only has two “A sides” in the PPV category, one named Manny and one nicknamed Money.

Arum did not disagree in the least. But he did not care to discuss parity on economic terms for the inevitable Pacman-Mayweather super bout.

“I agree with that but I am not sure either Manny or Miguel will fight Mayweather, win or lose, coming out of the Nov. 14 fight. Let’s just see what happens. I am not looking anywhere past Nov. 14 right now.”

I asked if Arum had any word as to what Pacman thought of seeing L’il Floyd completely dictate and dominate for all 36 minutes against the Mexican Ringmaster.

“Just that Manny spoke very confidently after watching the fight,” Arum said. “Just like he spoke very confidently after watching Miguel beat Clottey. He is confident that he can beat Cotto and he is confident he can do the same to Mayweather down the line. But Manny’s not looking past Miguel.”

Was it butter melting in Bob’s mouth or the lower priced alternative, some on sale margarine?

I can’t be sure without having a throat swab done but Friday was a sunny day in Arumville.

And, oddly enough, it was his former client turned adversary Mayweather who provided the sunshine.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m9d25-Buttery-Bob-Arum-concedes-Mayweather-Pacquiao-are-PPV-ASides