Although it wasn't the number that promoter Bob Arum was hoping for, an impressive 41,374 fans still showed up at Cowboys Stadium to witness pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao capture another world title in his 8th division. Dominating and defeating Antonio Margarito via unanimous decision, Pacquiao proved that although everything in Texas is bigger, big things come in small packages. Prior to the bout, Arum had predicted that a whopping 60,000 fans might show up for the event.
"I think we'll exceed it. I think the first fight, we did 51 [thousand] and change. I think this one, we're going to go over 60,000," Arum would boast during a conference call 10 days before the bout. The "first fight" that Arum was referring to was Pacquiao's March 13 clash with Joshua Clottey that saw a crowd of 50,994 show up for the first ever boxing match held at Cowboys Stadium. Although the attendance numbers for the Margarito fight were lower and fell far short of Arum's expectations, the fact remains that Pacquiao has fought in front of 92,874 fans in one year, a feat that no fighter will likely duplicate in the near future.
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