There?s a saying that goes something like, ?Time is Money?.
In economic terms people exercise their opportunity cost which is the cost of something in terms of an opportunity forgone. Economically and financially speaking we could all be finding ways to make financial gains instead of pursuing other not so lucrative activities.
For example, instead of sitting here writing this article I could be networking and finding legit and not so legit ways to make a couple extra greenbacks. Writing this piece is costing me the opportunity to further my financial progression. It?s the price I?m willing to pay to get a point across to the thousands of Boxingconfidential readers. (I?m a relatively simple man, one super burrito a day is all I need to survive?)
In relation to boxing, a bout on regular television such as ESPN, HBO, or Showtime all have a cost in the sense that you must have cable and premium cable to view these events. Depending on your current package it can run you anywhere from sixty to one hundred twenty dollars to subscribe to these necessary outlets to view your favorite sport. It?s a cost that?s a no-brainer for the average boxing fan as we must have it.
I remember having a conversation with former colleague Michael ?Vapor? Gonzalez about this. He stated, ?Man I always seem to live paycheck to paycheck. It doesn?t matter though. I need to have HBO and Showtime just for the fights. I?ll struggle a little just to be able to have both channels.?
When spending time watching a boxing card on these outlets, we don?t think about our cable bill. Instead we?re just allocating a certain amount of time to tune in. If a fight card was considered well worth it, as was the Pavlik-Taylor/Berto-Estrada double-header, it feels as though we missed out on nothing in terms of opportunity cost. Had we been partaking in any other hobby, event, or activity, it would have felt as though we had missed out on an irreplaceable great night of boxing.
When it comes to pay-per-view events the fans expect more. Why? Simply because it is a conscious cost that goes into viewing these events. Boxing fans across the country regularly see their cable bills elevated by an extra 50 George Washington?s on a regular basis. If a pay-per-view ends up being a rather dull fight card, the person who ended up ordering the production usually ends up thinking about what they could have done not only with the money they spent but also the time in which they allocated to watch the damn thing.
This is why I titled this piece asking? ?Was Pacquiao-Barrera II Worth Four Times Pacquiao-Morales III??
What I?m referring to is the ticket prices for this event.
I attended the Pacquiao-Morales trilogy at the Thomas and Mack Center last November. It had a live attendance of over seventeen thousand rabid spectators in comparison to the less than eleven thousand for this past Saturday?s event. I believe that part of the reason is that the same tickets that were priced at fifty dollars for the Morales bout were now two hundred dollars for the Barrera fight.
You were shelling out four times the amount for relatively the same view of the fight card. Did the fans receive four times as much action and excitement as they did this past November? I know they received four times as many rounds being that this recent fight went the distance in comparison to the three round war that was the ?Pacman? vs. ?El Terrible? 3. I know boxing can be quite unpredictable by nature but it?s still a question worth asking in my miniscule mind.
From a financial standpoint it is an obvious win-win situation for the promoters as they only had to sell 25% of the tickets sold for the trilogy fight in order to make the same exact amount of money for this rematch. It?s relatively simple math.
It?s been well known that the one hundred dollar seats were just a ridiculously small fraction of the seats unavailable to the general public. Yes I called at 10 o?clock on the dot and even slightly before that trying to purchase some Benjamin Franklin-priced seats for a couple friends. Nope, not a chance.
I?m not pointing the finger at anybody in particular regarding this whole fiasco. All I?m saying is that many of these fighters come from poor or working class neighborhoods. The few that are lucky enough, eventually somehow make it out. As they become more powerful and financially secure it gives them the ability to have a say in the amount these tickets are sold for.
In life as with any product out there, the more you pay, the more the consumer expects. If I?m going out to the Geneva Steakhouse in San Francisco, I expect to get what I pay for (It?s actually one of my favorite places around, especially for the price. Great T-Bones!). However, if I?m in the NYC area this November and bossman Marley forces me to take him out to Peter Luger?s, I expect more than what they offer at the Geneva Steakhouse. The product should always coincide with the price and boxing shouldn?t be excused from this natural law of business.
I have one more question for those people involved in setting those ticket prices.
Can the people you grew up with in the neighborhood you came from afford to purchase even the cheapest tickets available?
While some people might retort that even if the tickets were priced at fifty dollars that these citizens wouldn?t be able to afford it. At least give them a chance.
How sad would it be for your neighborhood friends and supporters to no longer be able to watch you perform as they supported you your whole career?
It?s a question to be honest with yourself about and something to think about going forward.
