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First, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. agreed to fight May 5. Now, we know where they will do battle.
Although it was one of boxing’s worst-kept secrets, Golden Boy Promotions made it official Wednesday, announcing that junior middleweight title holder De La Hoya and welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king Mayweather will fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Staples Center in Los Angeles had also been in the running, but ultimately Las Vegas can generate more money.
De La Hoya-Mayweather is expected to generate the largest live gate in Nevada history. The 1999 heavyweight championship rematch between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield holds the current record with ticket sales totaling $16,830,300.
The gate for De La Hoya-Mayweather could exceed $18 million because promoters have priced the tickets in the stratosphere. Ringside seats are $2,000; other tickets are priced at $1,500, $1,000, $750 and $350. By contrast, a ringside ticket for the highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rubber match at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center cost just $500.
The De La Hoya-Mayweather tickets are not on sale yet, but the date will be announced soon, Golden Boy said.
“This fight will be unlike any fight anyone has ever seen,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. “The promotion of this fight, from the initial press conference to fight night, also will be unprecedented in its scope. We have no doubt this will be the biggest boxing event of all time and one that will go down in the history books as such.”
That the bout wound up at the MGM Grand should come as little surprise to anyone who has followed De La Hoya’s career. His last four bouts and six of his last eight have taken place there. Also, De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy, has made the MGM Grand its home when it promotes fights in Las Vegas.
“MGM Grand is extremely excited to host this championship event,” said Richard Sturm, president of sports and entertainment for MGM Mirage. “The Grand Garden Arena has been the home to the greatest title fights in the sport’s history and we know the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight will be at the top of the list. The atmosphere in the arena certainly will be electric and our guests and fans will experience a spectacular event.”
De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs), who won a junior middleweight belt this past May by knocking out Ricardo Mayorga in the sixth round, said he can only get up for big fights. This one, he said, qualifies.
“This is what boxing is all about, and fighting Floyd Mayweather is the type of fight that truly gets me motivated to go through a hard training camp and make the sacrifices I have to make to be the best,” De La Hoya said. “We’ve talked about it, the press and the fans have asked for it, and now we’re going to put it all on the line and fight. I can’t wait for May 5.”
Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs), won the welterweight title on a dominant decision victory against Carlos Baldomir on Nov. 4 and is now moving up in weight to challenge De La Hoya.
“I’m excited to get this opportunity to once again show why I’m pound-for-pound the best in the world and to add another title to my collection,”Mayweather said. “I respect everything Oscar has accomplished in this sport, but this time he’s in over his head.”
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com
