Only 500 tickets for the much-awaited Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya fight on Dec. 6 will be made available to the public, promoter Bob Arum said yesterday.
Tickets go on sale on Sept. 24 and Arum expects tickets to be flying out the window in record time.
“That?s right, just 500 and we (Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions) both agreed,” said Arum from Las Vegas, 82 days to go before the year?s biggest boxing spectacle takes place at the MGM Grand.
Arum had met with high-ranking officials of GBP and MGM Mirage last week and they already have decided how many tickets will be given to each party.
The Grand Garden Arena will be reconfigured to seat over 15,000 for the Pacquiao-De La Hoya duel and owing to the high demand for tickets, the promoters and the hotel people have no choice but to get the lion?s share.
Top Rank?s share includes Pacquiao?s own purchase and bulk orders from callers who have been besieging the company ever since the fight was formally announced three weeks ago.
Tickets will be priced at $ 1,500, $ 1,000, $ 750, $ 500 and $ 250 and Arum believes all will be gone in two hours after the first purchase is made.
As a consolation, those who will still insist in going to Las Vegas to soak up the atmosphere of a big fight can still do so with the installation of closed-circuit viewing in select MGM Mirage-controlled hotels.
“There?ll be 30,000 seats for closed-circuit,” Arum said.
For those who will opt to stay home in the US and Canada, the fight can be viewed on HBO Pay-Per-View at $ 54.95 a pop.
In anticipation of a sellout, Internet ticket sellers have started putting up advertisements, dangling premium ringside seats for as much as $ 42,000 each.
