Buildup to super bout is chaotic on its own
It is a sign of the mayhem threatening to engulf the ‘Fight of the Century’ that a scheduled conference call with Manny Pacquiao had to be abandoned on Monday night even before the first question could be asked. As the feverish hype around the Filipino’s May 2 bout with Floyd Mayweather escalated to unmanageable levels, promoter Bob Arum, having clearly acquiesced to this latest circus under sufferance, described the debacle as “ridiculous.”
Pacquiao, trying to field questions from hundreds of journalists over a single line from his gym in Hollywood, had uttered all of three words before the 83-year-old jumped in by shouting: “Oh, f---! Let’s reorganize.”
As the $250-million US showpiece nears, the preamble is already on the verge of pandemonium. Not a single paper ticket for the fight has yet been issued — U.S. aggregator TiqIQ is listing prices of up to $67,710 for a ringside seat — and there remains a possibility there will be no public sale at all, such is the clamour among celebrities, sports stars and promoters’ associates to see and be seen at the MGM Grand next Saturday night.
Already, organizers have taken the unprecedented step of charging fans $10 a head just for the privilege of watching the weigh-in. Considering the Mayweather-Pacquiao duel has been almost a decade in the making — and has arguably come five years too late — it is being staged with a heavy dose of brinkmanship.
Promoters have said that fewer than 1,000 tickets would be sold at face value, but a succession of deadlines has passed and there is a growing chance that there will be none.