- I
find it surprising that as many folks believe that either fighter is really
avoiding each other in this instance. Just my opinion but as I already stated,
the complicated and often contentious relationships of the past and present (from
Mayweather, Arum, Golden Boy and Haymon) have been the biggest hurdle to
getting this done. I think the ancillary issues that have remained will forever
taint negotiations.
-
There's no doubt that the MGM Grand wants the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight but if
it came down to choosing one or the other for a particular date, based on
ticket sales and the “whales” that come into town for this fights, they would
choose Pacquiao. So I wonder how the MGM Grand felt about Mayweather's
announcement. The last thing they want is Pacquiao fighting somewhere else.
-
And speaking of venues, I've stated this before but if by miracle this actually
happens in 2012, shouldn't a fight of this magnitude and importance (real
importance, not where a blogger has a favorite fighter who draws 1,500 people
and labels it ‘important’ just because it involved him) be in an arena where
fans can actually purchase tickets? Trust me, folks; if this took place at the
MGM Grand, don't even bother with the process of hooking up five laptops and
having ten of your friends calling at 10:00 AM on the dot to try and get the lowest
priced seats. You have a better chance of winning your local lottery.
Boxing
has to be the only sport that willingly puts its biggest events in the smallest
of venues where the general public is shut out (and this on top of putting
these things on pay-per-view).
-
Speaking of which, I heard Arum on “The Mason and Ireland Show” out here in Los Angeles on ESPN Radio and he was asked what
type of price Top Rank could charge for this pay-per-view. He said that they
could probably go as high as $70 (meaning the HD broadcast would fetch 80
bucks) and he predicted it would do three million buys. But he did warn that by
pricing it in that manner, there would be “a point of diminishing returns,”
especially in this current economic climate.
C'mon,
for once, can we just give the fans a break? Besides, what's wrong with working
off volume and letting the masses see this event? It's bad enough that fans won’t
have any real opportunity to purchase seats. There’s no need to exacerbate that
problem by gouging them.
- On
the issue of venue, Arum was miffed that Mayweather would state where this
potential fight with Pacquiao would be based on that fact that it would limit
the revenue stream by not looking at other offers. But when the issue was
broached about putting it into a bigger venue where more of the public could
see this event live, Arum mentioned, along with Cowboys Stadium, Sam Boyd
Stadium, the football home of UNLV, which could
hold 40,000-plus. I know this is all a pipe dream but as legions of fans are
consistently shut out of the sport’s marquee events, I find it hard to believe
that the business of boxing isn't doing itself a disservice by catering to the
one percent.
Yeah,
but before all this, they should get around to actually consummating the fight.
