Want to See Mayweather vs. Pacquiao for $10?
Before you get too excited and start booking flights to Las Vegas for the $400 million May 2 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, let us be clear: These $10 tickets are not for the actual fight, but for the weigh-in. Yes, interest in the record-setting bout is so high that organizers are charging for tickets to see the two fighters step on a scale.
Under Nevada State law, weigh-ins have always been free for the public. But, because of the thousands of fans they may be expecting, the MGM Grand hotel, Nevada State Athletic Commission and promoters have decided to charge $10 admission. Fans who pay up may get to see Mayweather say expletives to Pacquiao while Pacquiao stares coldly into Mayweather’s eyes. Or not.
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Both camps will be donating the proceeds they earn from the weigh-in to charity. Mayweather’s share of ticket sales will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and Pacquiao’s will be donated to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
Boxing fans haven’t been this hyped for a fight in over a decade, and charging for tickets to the weigh-in might help prevent things from spinning out of control. Or at least that’s what the promoters are saying.
Brad Jacobs, the executive event producer for Top Rank, Pacquiao's promoter, told ESPN.com: "What we wanted to do was avoid the craziness you've seen at the Mayweather and Pacquiao weigh-ins where you have people sleeping out in front of the arena the night before and basically camping out. We want to avoid that. We want some orderly fashion to it so people needed to have a ticket like they need to a concert or a fight, so there's no reason for a big crowd to get there the night before. They will all be reserved seats. You have your ticket. There's no craziness waiting in line trying to get into the arena."
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The ticket price for the actual fight will be a little more than $10, with announced prices of $1,500 to $7,500. But with the fight just two weeks away, tickets have yet to go on sale — and not many will actually be available directly to the public. Of the 16,800 seats in the Grand Garden Arena, only 1,000 may be for sale to the general public — and there might not be a public sale at all, as the two camps are embroiled in a bizarre battle over the tickets. Resale prices may end up being well over $10,000. Floor seats are expected to range from $32,800 to $54,600, according to some reports.
Watching the fight on pay-per-view won’t be cheap, either, with price tag that could reach as high as $99.95. Fans can only hope that punch in the gut isn’t the hardest hit of the night.
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