Does Bob Arum benefit more from a Pacquiao or Cotto win on the 14th?

In the latest round of promoter squabbling, Oscar De La Hoya has again incurred the wrath of Bob Arum by suggesting that he had tried to arrange a bigger ring for Manny Pacquiao's showdown with Miguel Cotto.

While this was later found out to be false, by way of the Nevada boxing rules only allowing a standard 20x20 ring, the question that came to my mind was whether Arum really benefits from a Pacquiao win all that much?

Sure on the face of things Manny is his biggest fighter and Arum no doubt makes a lot of money off the back of his fights, but Pacquiao has already effectively stamped an expiration date on their relationship by announcing his retirement before the elections next year.

Cotto, who is also promoted by Arum has set no such date, and if he beats Pacquiao will suddenly become an in demand star again with potentially a lot more fights left in him for Arum to promote. The actual money to be made from one or two more Manny mega fights against several more at least from Cotto isn't easily calculable, but eventually the money Arum could make from Cotto would surely outstrip what he can with Manny in only two fights.

De La Hoya wrote in his blog:

“I believe that’s the reason (promoter) Bob Arum arranged to have a big ring, to give Pacquiao an advantage. Arum promotes both fighters but, obviously, it benefits him more if Pacquiao wins so they’re going to favor him,” De La Hoya said.

Big Bobcat Arum responded with:

Is that little (expletive) crazy?” Arum asked. “Who writes this (expletive) for him? I’m absolutely outraged. He can pick whoever he wants to pick to win the fight and he can say whatever he wants to say about me, but to write that I arranged to have the ring made bigger to favor anyone is a complete (expletive) lie and is just not true. For as long as I can remember, the rings in Nevada have been 20 feet by 20 feet and I didn’t do (an expletive) thing about changing it.”

It seems to me these latest comments by De La Hoya might be little more than sour grapes over the fact that it was Bob Arum and Top Rank not himself and Golden boy who managed to secure the promotion of Pacquiao's fights.

Like all promoters though, Arum gets paid either way, and despite whatever he may say he feels about Manny, he probably isn't that bothered either way how the fight goes. Certainly not enough to try to make a special concession for a Pacquiao victory anyway, and given Pacquiao's beliefs and moral character, I don't imagine he would appreciate anyone helping him out like that anyway.

After all, whatever else happens, when both Pacquiao and Cotto are retired, Arum (assuming he is still around and not retired himself by then) will be promoting another star in place of either of them.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-20066-Pittsburgh-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m11d7-Does-Bob-Arum-benefit-more-from-a-Pacquiao-or-Cotto-win-on-the-14th