I've heard somewhat disappointing figures..

[JazMerkin]

Ok, we still haven't actually had any official figures because HBO haven't had all the results in yet. It's currently at 1.2m, but those are incomplete figures, HBO expect it to do 1.4m once all the figures are in.

Anyway, people are missing the key factor here which is demographics. Most boxing fans for some reason will always try to find a way to avoid paying (at least the full price) for a fight and will resort to streams. So what all the fighters then have to rely on is that they can bring in enough casual fans. Most of these come from their particular demographic. So Oscar was always able to rely on the Mexican-American community, Trinidad had the Puerto Ricans and Manny has the Pinoy community (I'd argue the status his fights carry in this community even outdo Oscar's among Latinos). Mayweather has a big following among the black community, as well as other young, urban demographics. However, the problem is that the small, non-boxing fanbase that Mosley has is within the same demographic. This is why I always thought it was fanciful that this would do so well. It also demonstrates that a PBF-Pac matchup will do much better as it will bring in two differing fanbases as well as the casual fans who would be interested to just see this one fight.

I don't think you can say either is definitively a bigger star, which is why they should agree on a 50-50 split.

very good point here

a hell of a lot of the US boxing audience is of south american or otherwise, 2 guys who basically appeal to the same market with one of which being the clear odds on favourite equates to a lower audience than expected

So what demographic were buying the Pacquaio Cotto fight? I doubt many Filipino's and Puerto Ricans can afford PPV?

Yes those in the Phillipines can't afford it, but Filipino-Americans are one of the wealthiest ethnic groups, whilst Puerto Rico is a far wealthier country than you probably realize. PPV buys in Puerto Rico, in addition to the Puerto Ricans in the mainland US, would contribute well, as they did when Trinidad was a fighter. I did an essay on PPV sales in boxing & wrestling in my Master's course, so I discovered just how important ethnic demographics are to PPV buys. Arum has been a master at managing it with Oscar with Mexicans, Pacquiao with Filipinos & Cotto/Juanma with Puerto Ricans. It's one of the major criticisms of him that he wouldn't generally bother trying to make stars of black fighters, because he believed there to be no major fanbase there, something that has obviously been proven wrong. It's also why he was so committed to trying to turn Pavlik into a huge boxing star - the biggest consumer demographic available.