Tickets to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight are finally going on sale, but they are priced so that only financial heavyweights will be able to afford them, one of the fight promoters said Wednesday.
While the face-value of the tickets will start at $1,500, the median price is expected to be more than $11,000 on the secondary market, according to price tracker SeatGeek.
The fight between welterweight superstars Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will be on May 2 at the MGM Grand in La Vegas. It is expected to be a brawl and a financial blockbuster. Don’t even think about getting a ringside seat without a $250,000 line of credit with the casino.
The cheapest ticket on the secondary market is currently at about $5,000, and floor seats are priced at $50,500. To put that in context, fans paid a median price of $3,290 on the secondary market to see the Super Bowl this year.
“We’ve never seen anything like this in boxing, and I don’t think in any sporting event,” said Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter.
The promoter said he wasn’t worried that the steep prices would keep fans away.
“The 1% has so much money, they don’t know how to spend it. Whether it’s yachts, paintings or tickets to a fight, money means nothing,” he said.
Tickets are finally going on sale after a lot of back-and-forth about the contract for the fight, said Arum. The contentious negotiations still need final signatures, he said.
It’s uncommon for tickets to go on sale so close to the fight date.
“Usually everything is signed and sealed months before,” Arum told CNN.
There was a disagreement about how many tickets each fighter would get, Arum said. Pacquiao has 800 or 900 friends and family from the Philippines who want to get in.
MGM Grand could not be immediately reached for comment. The venue can hold nearly 17,000 for a boxing match.
