Paquiao-de la Hoya Tickets fight will be sold on Sept. 24!

Top Rank Promotions, Inc., has revealed in their web site that tickets for the match between the Filipino boxing superstar, Manny Pacquiao and “The Golden Boy” Oscar de la Hoya shall be sold to fight fans after Wednesday, September 24.

“Tickets will not go on sale before Wednesday, September 24th,” the Top Rank Web site (www.toprank.com/tickets) said. Ticket prices for the fight scheduled on December 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada range from $150 to $1,500. They also clarified that price categories mentioned are not inclusive of all the seats at the arena due to the high demand of the fight.

Manny Paquiao now weighs 154 lbs.!

Manny Paquiao weighs 154 lbs, just days before he flies to the US to promote his December 6 bout with Oscar dela Hoya and start heavy training, Manny is just seven pounds over the agreed 147-pound weight limit of their mega bout.

Pacquiao said he feels comfortable with his current weight although he expects to tip the scales at 143 pounds a day before his megabuck date with Dela Hoya at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

The Filipino World Boxing Council lightweight champion will be going up in weight against Dela Hoya who has been fighting at the welterweight and middleweight for most of his career.

The southpaw sensation from General Santos City said he expects Dela Hoya to press for the action in the early going of their fight.

The former Pacquiao trainer said Manny could carry his speed and agility even if he climbs the ring at 152 or 153 pounds.

Beyond that, he said, Manny could be in trouble.

Showing his rippling muscles despite ballooning to his current walking weight, Pacquiao said he is confident he could defeat Oscar dela Hoya.

Manny reportedly climbed the ring at 147 pounds on the night he demolished former WBC lightweight king in 10 rounds of masterful display of boxing and punching prowess in June this year for his first and only fight in the said weight class.

A former light flyweight, Manny held titles in the flyweight, super bantamweight, super feather weight and lightweight classes becoming the only Filipino and Asian to achieve that rare feat.

Source

PaquiaoVSHoya tickets gone in 2-3 hours-Bob Arum

The remaining tickets for the Dec. 6 welterweight war between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya will sell out "in two or three hours," Top Rank president Bob Arum said yesterday from Las Vegas.

Arum had met with Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) Chief Executive Officer Richard Schaefer and officials from MGM Mirage on Thursday (Friday in Manila) and they’ve
already decided on the number of tickets that will go to each party.


Only a fraction will be made available to the public since all three companies have already received bulk orders, while the MGM Mirage will use the tickets to entice high-rollers to stay at the MGM Grand and its chain of hotels.

As usual, "Manny also placed an order for tickets," said Arum, although it is not certain if Pacquiao will give tickets away in huge numbers as in the past when nearly every Tom, Dick and Harry can be given one.

The MGM Grand will be reconfigured to seat more than 15,000 although it can hold up to 17,000 spectators. Due to the magnitude of the event, the press will have an unusual number of requests for credentials with lots of applications coming not only from the US, Mexico and the Philippines but from Europe, South America and elsewhere.

Tickets--to be priced at $ 1,500, $ 1,000, $ 750, $ 500 and $ 250-- will go on sale on Sept. 24 and Arum is not surprised why a premium ringside seat on the Internet this early is being dangled for as high as $ 42,000.

"There won’t be a single ticket left for sale (at face value)."

In anticipation of a huge turnout of sports fans who will not get tickets for the fight, Arum said at least 30,000 seats will be put up for closed circuit in different MGM-owned hotels on the Strip like The Bellagio and The Mirage.

As in the pay-per-view revenues, Pacquiao will also get a cut in the sale of closed circuit showing.

"Everything goes to the pot," said Arum.

When De La Hoya fought Floyd Mayweather last year, all 5,400 tickets that went on sale for the public were bought in three hours and in the final days leading to the bout Ebay had listings of ,000 for a ringside seat.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao is scheduled to leave for the US tomorrow night to start the pre-training camp program and will go full-blast after a six city-five day press tour that will kick off on Oct. 1 in New York.


source:
By NICK GIONGCO
www.mb.com.ph