LAS VEGAS — Richard Schaefer is a Swiss banker by trade and an optimist by nature.
While he certainly understands the world financial system is in serious trouble, he doesn’t feel the same about Oscar (The Golden Boy) De La Hoya’s fight Saturday night against Manny Pacquiao.
“I’m starting to see some very encouraging signs,” Schaefer said. “I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
It helps Schaefer’s business partner is De La Hoya, who has sold more big fights than anyone in boxing history and can generate thousands of pay-per-view buys simply by flashing a bright smile.
He did it so well a year ago against Floyd Mayweather their fight was the richest ever.
But times are tough, and discretionary income is down. Christmas is coming, and people are more worried about their jobs than whether Pacquiao can avoid De La Hoya’s left hook.
Suddenly, there are seats available at the MGM hotel arena that was declared a sellout two hours after tickets went on sale in September. Suddenly, there are whispers perhaps even De La Hoya’s great charms and Pacquiao’s David vs. Goliath story won’t be enough to make this the mega-event it was supposed to be.
It’s boxing, so any answers will have to wait until receipts are added up and the fighters are given their money.
But it’s telling that rooms are available at regular rates this weekend at the MGM Grand and that ringside tickets usually available only to high-rollers and top celebrities can be bought online from the hotel in a package (US$3,399) that includes two tickets, two nights lodging and VIP entry to the post-fight party.
That doesn’t happen when times are good and tickets and rooms are in short supply. Las Vegas is mired in a deep tourism slump to begin with, and casual fans who might have come just to soak in the atmosphere of a big fight may just as easily stay home.
That was the case last month when just 9,000 fans showed up at the same hotel to watch Ricky Hatton fight Paulie Malignaggi in an arena Hatton and Mayweather sold out a year earlier.
Boxing can be a tough sell even in the best of times, although De La Hoya has proven he is the one fighter who can consistently sell tickets — and lots of them. But with ringside seats at $1,500 and a pay-per-view of at least $54.95, some De La Hoya fans might look at his recent record and his much smaller opponent and decide to take a pass this time around.
If they do, it’s not for a lack of trying on the part of De La Hoya and others. The promotion for the fight kicked off with a national tour of iconic spots like the Statue of Liberty and the Alamo. HBO is hyping it with a four-part ‘reality’ series. And the two fighters have been more visible lately than even Britney Spears.
The fight does have promise. Although Pacquiao is moving up two weight classes and is much smaller than De La Hoya, he’s considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter around, and his all-out style guarantees this fight will have more action than last year’s fight between De La Hoya and Mayweather.
While the argument could be made De La Hoya hasn’t won a significant fight in six years, everyone knows he will come to fight. De La Hoya has a lot of pride and knows at age 35, his time to make a statement in the ring is running out.
But he does understand the economy is in the tank, which is why if you buy enough of a certain beer, tequila and soda, you get $50 in rebates on the cost of the fight from sponsors.
Some people will buy if only because it’s De La Hoya — the one fighter who still sells.
