Report: Pacquiao-de la Hoya tickets sell out in two hours

MANILA, Philippines – Tickets to the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar de la Hoya megabuck fight have been sold out, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Publicists told the Times that it took only two hours of sales before they announced that tickets to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the venue of the fight, “had sold out". Meanwhile, fight promoters were excited about the response at the turnstiles. "This is just a reflection of the overwhelming interest in this mega event and we are extremely delighted that tickets sales were so swift," Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer said in an interview on ESPN.com. "When you have two superstars like Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya fighting each other, the public is going to respond and that is what they just did. No one wants to miss this one," Top Rank Inc. big boss and legendary promoter Bob Arum added. News of the sellout, considered the second-largest in the history of US professional boxing, comes at the heels of Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez’s call to ban the December 6 showdown because of the apparent mismatch between Pacquiao and de la Hoya. ESPN.com boxing writer Dan Rafael said the estimated $17 million culled from the Pacquiao-de la Hoya gate sales was second only to the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-de la Hoya tussle in 2007 which earned $18.42 million. The de la Hoya fight is easily Pacquiao’s most profitable gain in his career. With a reported 35-percent cut on the earnings that include pay-per-view buys, he can rake in a possible $20 million or some P900 million. While some have shown eagerness for the fight, Pacquiao’s third of the year and possibly de la Hoya’s last in his storied career, conservative boxing fans consider the fight as being done purely for its entertainment value. The World Boxing Council, headed by Jose Sulaiman, is one of the most outspoken critics of the fights, calling the bout a “fraud". Pacquiao, who only recently upped his weight division to the lightweight category, will go up to 147lbs to meet the mandatory welterweight limit agreed upon by the Pacquiao and de la Hoya camps. De la Hoya, who has campaigned in the 160lb division in recent years, would have to go down at least 15lbs to meet 147. But the drastic differences in physique between Pacquiao and de la Hoya, who is some four inches taller than his opponent, haven’t deterred the camps from completing what is regarded as the most highly anticipated boxing match of the decade. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, is one of the most vocal supporters of the fight, saying Pacquiao will offset de la Hoya’s height advantage by using his speed and power. As testament to the bout’s appeal, the promoters will conduct a US-wide, multi-city tour to market the match. – GMANews.TV