What we have not learned from the Mayweather?Pacquiao Hollywood presser
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 12 Mar 2015
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao faced each other on stage for the first time and convinced the world that the five years that they have waited for this mega-fight will not go to waste.
Both thanked their teams, their fans and the media. Both promised to train hard in the remaining weeks prior to Fight Night. Both promised a scintillating fight that will make the world stand still on the first Saturday of May.
And after the dust has settled on their lone press conference at the Oscar-like atmosphere of the red-carpeted Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, we still look for answers on some important specifics of this giant sporting event.
Tickets, tickets, tickets?
The hour-long press conference did not discuss the cost of tickets to the welterweight showdown between the two global stars of boxing. It wasn?t until at the end of the press conference that Mayweather Promotions? Leonard Ellerbe dropped numbers for what will be the most expensive ?face-value? tickets in the history of The Sweet Science.
?There has been an incredible demand by everyone all over the world to attend this fight. Ticket prices will range from $1500 to $7500. We will put out an announcement in the coming days for an on-sale date,? as Ellerbe concluded the press conference.
Ellerbe gave fans an idea of the amount that they will need to scratch out of their credit cards in order to watch this fight LIVE at the MGM Grand. What it did not give them are the particulars like the exact date of the sale and seating configuration at The MGM Grand Garden Arena, with only less than seven weeks left to ?The Fight? and with a projected high demand for the tickets.
In retrospect, ticket prices for Mayweather Jr.?s last fight at the MGM Grand in September of 2014 against Marcos Maidana was priced at $350 to a high of $1600. Pacquiao?s last gig at the same venue on June 2014 against Tim Bradley cost the fans $150 to $1000.
Undercard fights?
Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Promotions were represented by their main man in the dais Wednesday, but both Ellerbe and Bob Arum did not mention any other names that will complement Mayweather and Pacquiao.
With plenty of money being spent on Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao?s take home pay, fans and the demanding boxing press fear that ho hum fights and less appealing fighters and matches will grace the rest of the very expensive Pay-Per-View card.
PPV cost?
This brings us to the very important item that is Pay-Per-View. There is still no announcement of the final price of PPV price from today?s press event. No one from both sides of the promotions or from the two networks was willing to commit to a specific amount. $100 would be a good estimate, especially if you add taxes and fees from your cable providers.
Again in retrospect, Mayweather Jr.-Maidana 2 cost $64.95 and an additional $10 for High Definition or HD. Pacquiao versus Chris Algieri in Macau was sold at $59.99 on American households and an additional $10 for HD.
24/7 and All Access?
HBO and Showtime did not mention any Pre-fight programs, specials and reality-based TV programming that is a staple of their Mayweather and Pacquiao fights in the past. This is only the second time where the two rival networks will be working together for a major boxing fight since Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson in 2002 and that may have contributed to the later than usual announcements of their Pre-Fight programming.
There will be definitely some sort of specials leading to May 2nd but please spare us from the need to see more of Mayweather?s line of luxury cars or his array of expensive watches or Pacquiao?s attention-grabbing and camera-crowding entourage - the public has grown tired of these.
The five-year history of this fight has more compelling stuff to fill air time in the production of such Pre-fight specials.
And the only thing that we have learned in Wednesday?s press conference is that- we truly cannot predict the outcome of a fight based on a series of pre-fight appearances or in this particular fight - a press conference.
Pacquiao was beaming with confidence that he will put an end to Mayweather?s winning record; even professing that God will exalt him on the night of May 2.
Mayweather who was in his best and somewhat subdued behavior reminded his opponent that he is unbeaten in 47 fights while Pacquiao has tasted a number of defeats in the past. It was a kind and gentle reminder by Mayweather Jr. that the last time Pacquiao tasted defeat, it was in the same arena of the MGM Grand and that he was out cold in the canvas.
But past records and fights will not matter until the bell signals the start of Round 1 of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. The only thing that matters is that ? ?The Fight? is on and that everyone in the sporting world cannot wait for that night.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and is on Twitter @Freemazon910.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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