CHICAGO — While covering Pacquiao vs. Morales I last March 19, 2005 at the MGM Grand, Bzac Credentials, the outfit tasked to handle the avalanche of media requests from all over the world, granted me a precious press pass.
Bzac assigned me to a floor seat. I was just a sneeze away from PacMan, but far enough from the splinters of Erik Morales’ punches, an infinity of 1-2 missiles that the Mexican slugger threw without relent that night.
Bzac Credentials isn’t the outfit that hands out media passes for Pacquiao-Morales II this Jan.21 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. This time, Top Rank has delegated SFE Public Relations to do the grunt work of screening media requests and assigning the coveted seats.
I guess it’s never too early for New Year’s wishes. So here’s mine — a floor seat at Pacquiao’s next ring foray dubbed by Top Rank as “The Battle.”
I don’t know if Pacquiao-Morales II will match the glamour and box-office draw of the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson fight in 2002, a blockbuster which I was privileged to cover as a credentialed writer.
On that warm and humid night of June 8, the Pyramid was a must-place to go. Movie celebrities and pro athletes mingled as the ringside section glistened with countless pretty and familiar faces.
The priciest seats for Lewis-Tyson got scalped to as high as $12,000 a ticket while pay-per-view revenues rose to a mind-boggling $103 million.
I don’t know if Pacquiao-Morales II will match the ferocity of Oscar Dela Hoya versus Fernando Vargas, another blockbuster that I was credentialed to cover last Sept. 14, 2002.
That night at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Oscar and Fernando shed more blood than a war-torn Baghdad alley. In a suspenseful free-for-all, the Golden Boy eventually prevailed after 11 rounds, and El Feroz was never the same again.
Neither PacMan nor El Terrible possess the pull and megastar status of Lewis, Tyson and Dela Hoya, but I have a good feeling that Pacquiao vs. Morales II will be special in its own way.
And whether I’m at ringside or at some distant balcony at press row, I’ll enjoy this assignment just the same.
Out of curiosity, I surfed the internet last night looking for tickets. If I weren’t a sportswriter and I wanted to get ringside seats for “The Battle,” I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Through a website called Tickco prime seats, I would have to pay $3,920 for one ringside ticket (first floor, row 2). If I want to save a little but still stay at ringside, I could buy a Row 4 seat for a horrifying $3,080. The cheapest available tickets cost $120 at section 222, row G.
Pacquiao is guaranteed $2 million for this rematch. God knows how much Morales gets. Both also get a bite out of the pay-per-view revenues.
In short, Pacquiao and Morales become filthy rich. And deservedly so. Unfortunately, boxing fans have to pay the price through escalating ticket prices and pay-per-view television.
Me? I can’t complain. I don’t pay for my seat and I get to interview both fighters during the media sessions, a perk which none of the high-paying customers ever get.
SOLO .For the first time in my life, I was alone when Dec. 24 turned into Dec. 25 just a few days ago. When the United Airlines pilot for flight 56 from San Diego to Chicago announced from the cockpit “Merry Christmas,” I felt loneliness all over my body.
If it hadn’t been for the $5 cocktails I was drinking like water, I would have been flooded the economy class with the tears of my despair.
I didn’t spend last Christmas eve with my family because I had to cover Rey Bautista’s fight on Dec. 23. It’s one of those times when my sportswriting career compels me to make certain sacrifices.
But I have no complaints. The last time I checked, there are thousands and thousands of people who want my job. There are so many of them who are qualified to do what I do, but there’s only so few positions to be had.
And I’m not giving up mine.
