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BOB ARUM SAYS HE'S "OFF THE CHARTS OPTIMISTIC" THAT PACQUIAO VS. VARGAS DOES "VERY, VERY BIG" PPV NUMBERS

By Press Release | October 25, 2016
BOB ARUM SAYS HE'S

"If Manny comes in and dominates this fight and looks like the old Manny, and wants to continue fighting, there will be certain opponents that will be considered.  If he decides that it's too much juggling two careers then he shouldn't continue," stated Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who spoke about Manny Pacquiao's upcoming showdown with WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas. Check it out!

In looking at Vargas' opponents we don't see a murderers row, is it difficult to take this fight seriously?

BOB ARUM:  No murderers row of opponents but when he fought Bradley he had Bradley out on his feet and because the referee got mixed up he stopped the fight ten seconds too soon so who knows how that would have ended.  And he fought Sadam Ali to win the title and Sadam Ali is a terrific fighter – he was a member of the US Olympic Team, he was undefeated and certainly not a tomato can and he entered the fight a big favorite over Vargas and Vargas dominated him and eventually knocked him out.  I think that victory alone qualifies Vargas for top level of fighters and opponents for Manny.

I agree on the Ali fight, but Bradley was way ahead on scorecards when Vargas had Bradley out on his feet in the 12th round...

BOB ARUM:  We can agree on that but what if he had him out on his feet in the earlier rounds or in the 11th round – the fact that he could put Bradley out on his feet is I think the operative statement.

Will he fight again?

BOB ARUM:  Let's take it one at a time.  If Manny comes in and dominates this fight and looks like the old Manny, and wants to continue fighting, there will be certain opponents that will be considered.  If he decides that it's too much juggling two careers then he shouldn't continue.  If he is determined to continue and his performance suffers because of his work in the Senate I would have to look in the direction of somebody else for an opponent.  So to jump now about names and so forth, who knows?  Manny may look so good in this fight and may have such senatorial presence in the fight that we may be looking for Golovkin next.  And if he doesn't vote right in the senate I think some of his constituents may be urging him to fight Golovkin.

MANNY PACQUIAO:  Bob, I hope you are joking about. Golovkin!

Do you have expectations of how the fight will do?

BOB ARUM:  We are very optimistic.  What's happened here is – how do you know?  Why are you optimistic?  We are optimistic because our ticket sales are tremendous at the gate – that is one indication and secondly, our closed circuit operations – the bars and chains and mom-and-pop bars, are doing sales reminiscent of Manny Pacquiao of a couple of years ago.  They are being blown away by the response, so the Gagliardi family  (closed circuit sales team) are chortling, "Happy Days are Here Again."  So then how does the pay per view do?  We think it's going to really do very well and the reason for that is we are marketing it in a lot of different ways.  We are not spending the money on the shoulder programming that is seen only on HBO – we are spending that shoulder money on a new series called "ALL IN" which starts today and will be seen all over the internet – on Facebook, Twitter and on the stuff the young kids are watching.  We will be reaching many more millions of people than we reached by the previous shoulder programming.  We think it's the way to go.  We think by reaching a tremendous audience with views of the fighters and interviews with Manny and Jessie and pictures and vignettes of the other fighters fighting in the championship fights and telling everyone that they are not going to see one or two world championship fights on the telecast, but FOUR.  Every single fight is a world championship fight and every single fight is competitive.  We think we are going to do very, very big pay per view numbers.  Do I know that for a fact?  No.  The others I know for a fact because the pay per view numbers -- we really won't get a handle on until the week of the fight.  Am I optimistic?  Off the charts.  Off the charts optimistic.  Listen, you can say what you want about Pacquiao and Vargas, I think it's competitive – certain people don't and that's their opinion.  Jessie is the kind of guy that can make it a real interesting fight.  But everybody says that Nonito Donaire vs.  Jessie Magdalena is a competitive, very good and interesting fight.  The new featherweight champion Oscar Valdez against the No. 1 contender from Japan is a shootout – it's a terrific fight.  And Zou Shiming has a rematch against Prasitak Papoem of Thailand for the vacant title which will be a very interesting fight – wait till you see the Prasitak – it will look like Shiming is fighting a miniature Manny Pacquiao because this kid is a dead image of Manny Pacquiao.  So it will really be a great night of boxing and we think the pay per view is going to be terrific.

Bob, what has it been like working with Manny Pacquiao?

BOB ARUM:  It made a tremendous difference to me emotionally.  In 1985 I co-promoted a fight in Manila and I spent a lot of time in the Philippines and walked away from the people in the Philippines and in the interim years I had met so many Filipinos who had come to the United States and found them to be charming delightful people and with my association with Manny I have had an opportunity to meet thousands of Filipinos and have spent a lot of time in the Philippines and to meet somebody as dedicated to man kind as Manny Pacquiao.  To me Manny Pacquiao symbolizes the best of the Philippine people.   Somebody who cares for other people and somebody who dedicates his life to doing good.  I think that that has had a great influence on me in my later years.  To me when I think about it, made everything that I have accomplished and done in boxing worthwhile because I have had that experience with Manny and the Philippine people.

In Closing . . .

BOB ARUM:  Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday at Manny's media day.  I am really excited about this fight.  My job is to get people interested and sometimes it is very hard because I have to get myself interested.  In this event I really believe – Pacquiao and Vargas I can't wait to see that fight and the other three title fights are absolutely great and to be able to do an event like this involving fighter from countries all over the world is something special, naysayers who cover the sport, who always talk about boxing being dead, and boxing being this and boxing being that, in negative terms will see, that on November 5 boxing is on the cusp of real greatness.  In the 51 years I have been in the sport I have never seen the quantity of terrific fighters that I see today – not only from the United States but from all over the world.  From the four corners of the world – from New Zealand, to Kazakhstan, to Russia, the Philippines, China, Brazil, to Ireland – all over the world.  We have a great global sport and we will celebrate that sport on the evening of November 5 with a great card of four world championship fights.

*********************************

Boxing's only eight division world champion and the reigning Fighter of the Decade Senator MANNY "Pacman" PACQUIAO, (58-6-2, 38 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, and Roach are in the final weeks of training for their world championship collision with World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight world champion JESSIE VARGAS (27-1, 10 KOs), of Las Vegas.  In just 11 days they will go mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a high-stakes welterweight showdown.  While Pacquiao will be looking to become a three-time WBO welterweight champion as well as the first senator to win a world title, Vargas will be resolute in enforcing a term limit on the future Hall of Famer's boxing career. 

Pacquiao vs. Vargas takes place Saturday, November 5, at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Pacquiao vs. Vargas and its three co-main event world title fights will be produced and distributed live by Top Rank® Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, and will be available on all conventional platforms, including all major cable and satellite systems, as well as Top Rank's digital distribution via www.TopRank.tv and  mobile devices. 

The three additional world championship fights on the pay-per-view telecast include:  four-division world champion NONITO "The Filipino Flash" DONAIRE (37-3, 24 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, defending his WBO junior featherweight title against undefeated No. 1 contender JESSIE MAGDALENO (23-0, 17 KOs), from Las Vegas; and newly-minted WBO featherweight champion and two-time Mexican Olympian ÓSCAR VALDEZ (21-0, 18 KOs), from Nogales, Mexico, making his first title defense, against No. 1 contender  HIROSHIGE OSAWA (30-3-4, 19 KOs), from Osaka, Japan.  The pay-per-view telecast will open with the rematch between top-rated contenders Chinese Olympic icon ZOU SHIMING (8-1, 2 KOs), from Guizhou, China, and PRASITAK PAPOEM (39-1-2, 24 KOs), of Buriram, Thailand, battling for the vacant WBO flyweight world title.  Zou a two-time Olympic gold medalist trained by Freddie Roach, will have his hands full against Prasitak, who enters this fight riding a two-year, 12-bout winning streak, with all of his victories coming by way of knockout.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Wynn Las Vegas and Tecate, remaining tickets to the Pacquiao vs. Vargas world championship event are priced at $1,000, $700, $500, $300, $100 and $50, not including applicable service fees.  Tickets may be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office (except on Wednesday, October 19 because of the Clinton - Trump presidential debate), online at http://www.unlvtickets.com/, at UNLVtickets Outlet Town Square Las Vegas and La Bonita Supermarkets.  To charge by phone call 702-739-FANS (3267) or 866-388-FANS (3267).   

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing or facebook.com/trboxeo, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing or twitter.com/trboxeo.  Use the Hashtag #PacVargas to join the conversation on Twitter.

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