Manny Pacquiao captured a unanimous-decision victory over Timothy Bradley Jr. on April 9 in the rubber match between the two esteemed fighters, but the bout didn't live up to the hype even though it was billed as the final fight of the Pac-Man's career. 

According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum revealed Wednesday that the fight ultimately flopped after producing fewer HBO pay-per-view purchases than expected.    

"It will be somewhere between those numbers, 400,000 and 500,000 [buys]," Arum said, per Rafael. "It's all being added up, but it will be closer to 400,000 than 500,000. Terrible."

Rafael also noted that "some in the industry believe Arum is being optimistic, and that when everything is counted, the fight might not even reach 400,000."

According to Arum, the fight also underwhelmed from a cash-flow perspective because of a combination of factors. Not only has Pacquiao been a focal point of scrutiny after making disparaging remarks about gay people, but his appearance in last May's long-awaited superfight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. came and went without much drama inside the ring. 

Mayweather cruised to a unanimous-decision victory as Pacquiao battled right-shoulder pain that preceded surgery on a torn rotator cuff, and Arum said the lingering effects of that fight may have played a role in the Pacquiao-Bradley III rankings tanking. 

"Certainly the pushback from Manny's gay remarks killed us," Arum said, per Rafael. "It hurt us a lot. But I think it was also less a reaction to the match than a reaction to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. It was a reaction like Mayweather got. Mayweather also got punished [by consumers]."

However, Pacquiao (58-6-2) likely won't be complaining after he was able to ride off into the sunset a winner. The 37-year-old netted a $20 million payday for the main event alone, per Rafael, and he made it clear following the win that he would return to his home country of the Philippines and return to a life in politics. 

"Yes, as of now I am retired," Pacquiao said following the fight, per Rafael. "I am going to go home and think about it, but I want to be with my family. I want to serve the people [of the Philippines]."

With Pacquiao and Mayweather both retired for the time being, the sport figures to lean on the undefeated Gennady Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) to generate hype with a showdown against Dominic Wade looming Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California. 

If Golovkin can handle Wade (18-0, 12 KOs) and secure another victory, then things will get fascinating as the 34-year-old seeks to make a long-awaited bout with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez a reality at last.

Stats courtesy of BoxRec.com.