The way ticket sales are going for the March 19 super featherweight fight between Tijuana’s Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, it’s safe to say the matchup is highly anticipated. Arum, who is promoting the event, said Sunday that 11,000 of the 14,500 tickets that were available for the fight, which will be held at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, have been sold.
“It is unbelievable,” said Arum, who said he expects a sellout. “I have never seen ticket sales for a fight like this so strong.”
The card will be available on pay-per-view for $44.95. Arum said it will also be available on closed-circuit television.
Interestingly, Arum said he expects the pay-per-view numbers to be higher than the 325,000 buys for Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera III last November. Arum is hopeful of getting between 350,000 and 400,000 for Morales-Pacquiao.
“We have another fairly large and enthusiastic ethnic group,” Arum said. “Pacquiao is huge in the Philippines. Obviously, all of those enthusiasts help raise the numbers.”
Morales, 28, is 47-2 with 34 knockouts. Pacquiao, 26, is 39-2-2 with 31 knockouts.
