LAS VEGAS – A ticket to the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight has sold for nearly $41,000, a bold testament to how important this Fight of the Century is worth to some people.
The purchase was made Tuesday via StubHub, a ticket reseller, for $40,955.25 for the ringside seat. In pesos, that would be about P1.8 million, an amount that could buy a good midsize car in the Philippines.
After a series of recriminations from the camps of the fighters, tickets finally went on sale last week. They sold out in less than 60 seconds.
With no ticket to buy, the general public has no option but go to the secondary market. Reselling tickets is a legal activity here.
Last Friday, according to cbssports.com, the most expensive ticket was listed at $128,705.5. Late Monday night, two tickets were being offered at $397,805.25 each.
But fans who can’t afford to pay these mind-boggling prices can still see both fighters for $10 (R45). That would be on Friday when the two protagonists attend the weigh-in at MGM Grand.
Punches will not be exchanged there, but at least fans will get to see the fighters in the flesh before they go at each other on May 2.
This is the first time tickets are being sold for the weigh-in, usually a staid affair that has no redeeming value unless one fighter fails to make the weight.
But the interest in the fight is so overwhelming that promoters decided that to limit access, fans will have to have a ticket to attend the weigh-in.
Proceeds will go to charity.
Originally, ticket prices range from $1,500 to $7,500, plus a handful of $10,000 for VIPs. None of these became available as only 500 tickets were released to the public and which immediately sold out.
Hotels also jumped on the opportunistic bandwagon. The least expensive room at MGM Grand for the coming weekend is $1,600.