As expected, there was quite a frenzy over the news that Manny Pacquiao will be fighting before his adoring countryman against Oscar Larios of Mexico on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
But hardly had the initial whooping subsided when a dampener swiftly rained on the parade. The ticket prices for the fight were announced and a collective groan was heard all over Pacquiao country. The figures are staggering ranging from US,000 and 0 for the premium ringside seats to R1,000 for General Admission.
The first I heard of it was from golfmate Boy Sagmaquen who accosted me at the Veterans Golf Club, as if I had something to do with the pricing. Now Boy is no pauper, he is a retiree from San Francisco, California who is back home after almost three decades of gainful employment in the land of milk and honey. But he avers that shelling out 0 to watch Manny in a tune-up fight is ridiculous. And he is not about to watch from the bleachers. He is a retiree, after all. He can’t see clearly from that fan.
Yesterday I heard Atty. Ed Tolentino a respected boxing scholar on his radio show “Sports Column OnAir’’ (Sports Radio, 918 kHz) also denouncing the pricing for the fight. He says that touting the match as the “Thrilla in Manila II’’ is the height of marketing over-kill, as it cannot, by any stretch of the imagination be compared to Ali-Frazier ’75.
Despite the glowing praises for Larios’ abilities, Atty. Ed points out that the Mexican fighter, although a former WBC champion, just lost his crown to Isidro Vazquez whose only claim to fame was being a sparmate of Pacquiao. And Larios is just moving up from superbantamweight (122 lbs.) to Pacquiao’s jr. lightweight class (130 lbs.)
Of course that is not to belittle Larios’ chances as anything can happen inside the square ring. But let’s call a spade a spade. Larios may be a competent boxer but a Barrera nor Morales he ain’t.
Many other people are just as frustrated. Boxing fans that followed Manny’s checkered career from the start are the most hurt. Most of them come from the adoring masses who saw Manny in his earlier fights on “Blow by Blow’’ free of charge. Oh, they realize they have to pay to see Manny now, but R1,000 for Gen. Admission? They just shake their heads and cluck their tongues in disappointment.
The marketing people who hatched the pricing schedule (such an appropriate word!) are probably not boxing people. Sure Pacquiao fans will want to see the fight, but will they shell out that kind of money? And if they do, where will they get it? From loans they can ill afford to take out their kids’ enrollment money or heaven forbid, criminal activities?
The people behind this will of course point to the huge expenses the promotion will entail. But we all know venue and television sponsors will fall over each other, the pay-per-view income and revenue from the mall viewings are sure to hit the roof.
Come on guys, have a heart. Pacquiao’s handlers have been making a big production about the boxer’s so-called charitable acts. This is an opportunity to show that these were not just photo or press opportunities. The people are not asking for a freebie. Just realistic pricing.
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The seen around. . . Virgil Villavicencio and Anthony Suntay beaming with pride at the initial success of their novel tournament, the Total-FiloilFlying-V Homegrown Cup which features alumni and high school teams of 6 top collegiate teams at the San Juan gym. . .hair salon magnate Ricky Reyes fussing over a hundred guests at his sprawling Golden Sunset Spa and Resort in Calatagan, Batangas for his fund-raising golf tournament at the nearby Calatagan Golf Club for the benefit of Childhaus, his pet project for cancer-stricken children. Former President Fidel V. Ramos was an active co-organizer, also making a pitch for his RPDEV (Ramos Program for Development).. top Marine law practitioner Atty. Arturo Carlos Astorga and his beauteous wife Palou of Citimotors celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at the Puerto Real in Intramuros recently. Congratulations and best wishes to the handsome couple.
