By Ronnie Nathanielsz
TOP Rank promoter Bob Arum told insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Ricky Hatton’s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr, is a good tool for promoting the May 2 fight with Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather Sr. has been making a lot of public comments with respect to Hatton being able to knock Pacquiao out.
“He is a terrific ticket seller, he really stirs up the pot. It’s good to have him on board. They were the people that originally put him together with Oscar de la Hoya when we were looking for a trainer. We have great respect for Floyd Sr,” Arum said.
There’s also been talk of huge revenues generated by the Pacquiao-Hatton fight with a figure of around $60 million being mentioned.
“They come out with these numbers which may ultimately be accurate. In other words, the fighters are all in for percentages. I figure this kind of money, $60 million or something like that as the pot. Yes, it’s not far-fetched if we can do the numbers that the Hatton-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight did.”
While stating that he hoped the numbers generated will be like the Hatton-Mayweather Jr. fight or even more, which would mean “a real home run,” Arum cautioned that with the continuing economic crisis worldwide, to make any guarantees based on those numbers “is insane.”
But the astute promoter, who is considered the best in the business, disclosed that he does know the guaranteed purse figures on the Pacquiao side, which his team was very happy about, but that he couldn’t reveal details.
