Slow ticket sales, Conor’s plan don’t worry Mayweather
FLOYD Mayweather is confident his fight with Conor McGregor will meet all of its financial expectations, including a sellout crowd at T-Mobile Arena, when the two meet on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas.
Amid reports of sluggish tickets sales, Mayweather remained confident his 12round junior middleweight boxing match with the UFC star will attract a packed house and millions on Showtime pay-per-view.
“Forget what you’re hearing,” Mayweather said during his media workout held Thursday at his gym in Las Vegas. “Our fight is doing unbelievable numbers. The pay-per-view will be unbelievable and we’ll have a sold-out crowd. I’m not worried about that.”
The lack of a sellout two weeks before the bout is noteworthy considering tickets for the middleweight championship between Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at T-Mobile on Sept. 16 was pronounced a sellout by Golden Boy Promotions on July 7. Tickets for that HBO payper-view event went on sale June 22 and were priced from $300 to $5,000.
Tickets for Mayweather-McGregor range from $1,600 to $17,878 and remain available on Ticket Master. Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, acknowledged the high cost of the tickets is precisely why all the tickets haven’t moved. But he remains confident those who can afford such prices will find their way to Vegas for the fight.
Ellerbe revealed $60 million already has been generated by the bout. This includes all revenue from foreign and domestic partners. The fight will be shown in 150 countries, with the United Kingdom and Australia doing huge business.
“Right now where we’re at today, we’ve surpassed the numbers for Mayweather-Pacquiao,” said Ellerbe, referring to the May 2015 fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao that generated $600 million in revenue. “We’ve opened up the tickets to encourage the fans right now, so they don’t have to wait.”
Mayweather, 40, looked confident, relaxed and in terrific condition during his media workout. He praised McGregor for bringing Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez to his camp to help the MMA star with the rules of boxing. There is language in the contract that reads McGregor would be fined heavily for any action outside the rules of boxing.
“I’m going to keep my composure,” Mayweather said. “I hope he keeps his composure and we can give the fans what they want to see.”
Mayweather claimed to already knows McGregor’s game plan for the 12-round bout, which will be Mayweather’s first since retiring at 49-0 following a decision over Andre Berto in September 2015.
“He’s going to come out and keep switching [stances] and keep switching,” Mayweather said. “He’s going to come out southpaw and then he’s going to switch the other way. But when you keep switching, all you’re doing is burning energy.”
Mayweather Promotions is the lead promoter of the fight and it often sounds as if Floyd Mayweather is talking up McGregor’s chances of beating one the best boxers ever in the Irishman’s first professional boxing match.
“I never said he’s going to beat me,” Mayweather said. “He’s taller with a longer reach with youth on his side and some say power on his side. But boxing IQ is on my side. Experience is on my side and my fighting knowledge is on my side.”
Mayweather, sounding like Apollo Creed in Rocky, said he needs to win by stoppage to meet expectations.
“It’s a victory for him, if he goes the distance,” Mayweather said. adding, “He believes it’s not going to go past four [rounds] and I don’t feel it’s going the distance either. We’re both confident in our skills.”