Terence Crawford slames Hank Lundy at Madison Square Garden. Photo: Naoki Fukuda

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum downplayed expectations for the junior welterweight unification match between titleholders Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol on July 23 on HBO PPV in Las Vegas, suggesting it would draw in the 100,000 range.

The matchup has drawn rave reviews for the elite nature of the fighters but the point of it on pay-per-view has struck some as strange. But Arum promised the price tag would be cheaper than the average pay-per-view card, telling RingTV.com it won’t cost more than $50 to purchase.

Earlier, talking to several reporters, he said he had no other choice but to put it on PPV since HBO didn’t have enough dates to accommodate the card. Arum said he didn’t expect the July 23 card to do blockbuster numbers, given the still emerging status of both Crawford (28-0, 20 knockouts) and Postol (28-0, 12 KOs).

“I have a whole history of looking for opportunities to launch a fighter on pay-per-view,” Arum said on Thursday. “You cannot launch a fighter on pay-per-view and anticipate 500,000 or a million buys. I do it like I did with (Floyd) Mayweather, like I did with (Erik) Morales, like I did with (Manny) Pacquiao — 100,000 buys, hundred and a quarter and you build on it.”

Arum said he had nowhere else to put the July 23 card since HBO had limited dates and Crawford insisted of fighting more than twice a year. While both fighters still have yet to sign and return the contracts, Arum said the deal was “done.” Arum’s comments on Thursday were likely influenced by Pacquiao’s pedestrian PPV performance with Timothy Bradley on April 9 in which the card generated between 400,000 and 500,000 buys.

“Now HBO told us that they have all these fighters,” Arum said. “The best you’re going to do is two HBO dates a year. Crawford wants to fight more. Well, that’s a perfect opportunity for me to do it on pay-per-view. I’m not looking to do half a million homes (on July 23).”

Arum spoke before a press conference to hype a June 11 card headlined by Vasyl Lomachenko and junior lightweight titleholder Roman Martinez. Felix Verdejo will face Juan Jose Martinez in the HBO co-feature at Madison Square Garden’s Theater.

Arum has mentioned Gilberto Ramirez making his first super middleweight title defense on the July 23 PPV undercard, along with unbeaten featherweight contender Oscar Valdez in separate bouts.