Boxing fans who’ve been clamoring to see a fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will realize their dream on May 2 — but if they hope to see it in person, they might have to take out another mortgage.
Speaking with ESPN on Wednesday, fight promoter Leonard Ellerbe said tickets will start at $1,500 apiece.
Those are the cheap seats.
The best seats in the house will run $7,500 per ticket, according to Ellerbe. Those prices are raised considerably from when the fight was initially announced in February. Then, it was expected the ticket prices would range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Why jack up the prices? Co-promoter Bob Arum blamed “heavy demand for tickets.” The Las Vegas fight is expected to generate at least $40 million in ticket sales alone, according to ESPN.
The upcoming fight has already been dubbed the “Fight of the Century,” echoing Muhammad Ali’s legendary 1971 bout with Joe Frazier. Mayweather (47-0, 26 KO) and Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KO) have been the sport’s top names for nearly a decade but have never met in the ring.
Years of negotiations resulted in an agreement that will see a 60-40 split of the purse, with Mayweather earning the larger percentage. Promoters had been trying to organize a bout between the pair since at least 2009.
The fight, which will see the winner crowned the unified Welterweight champion, will also air on pay-per-view.
Clint Davis is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.
