LAS VEGAS: Sixty-million dollars sounds pretty good to Leonard Ellerbe.
Dressed dapper in a white shirt and slacks, topped with a navy pinstriped blazer, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions flashed an occasional smile while addressing the media at Mayweather Boxing Club.
That was until he was questioned about slow ticket sales for the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor on Aug. 26 at the T-Mobile Arena.
“I’m actually tired of hearing that question,” Ellerbe said, as the smile disappeared. “Right now, we have over $60 million in the box office. What part of that remotely looks like ticket sales are slow? This isn’t a... Rolling Stones concert. That’s the only thing that sells out in seconds. We’re talking about tickets that go from $500 to $10,000. That’s an expensive ticket.”
As of Thursday evening, a general search for two tickets on Ticketmaster’s website showed 536 pairs available, ranging anywhere between $1,682.50 to $35,010.09 per ticket.
And with thousands of seats still available, and the fight two weeks out, some believe the next sporting event that will sell out in that venue will be a Vegas Golden Knights game, when the newest NHL expansion team opens the 2017-18 season. Critics also believe with some second-tier seats carrying a five-figure price tag, the pay-per-view fee of $99.95 seems like a bargain.
“We’re going to blow past our own record of $72 million; this fight is massive,” Ellerbe said.
Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao’s “fight of the century” saw live gate receipts produce more than $71 million in revenue at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, easily surpassing the previous live gate record of $20 million for Mayweather-Canelo Álvarez.
Mayweather reiterated Ellerbe’s thoughts.
“We’re doing crazy numbers, forget what you all (are) hearing. We’re doing crazy numbers,” Mayweather said. “Our fight is doing unbelievable numbers. The pay-per-view numbers are going to be unbelievable and we will have a sold-out crowd. I’m not worried about that.”
Mayweather promoter tired of talk about ticket sales
Mayweather promoter tired of talk about ticket sales
Joshua calls out rival Fury after knocking out Paul
- Joshua called out long-time rival Tyson Fury after the clash. “If you’re a real bad man, don’t do all that talking, ‘AJ this, AJ that,’ let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists,” he said
MIAMI: Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua delivered a dose of reality to American Jake Paul with a savage sixth-round knockout that left the social-media-star-turned prize-fighter nursing a jaw broken in two places.
Joshua called out long-time rival Tyson Fury after the clash. “If you’re a real bad man, don’t do all that talking, ‘AJ this, AJ that,’ let’s see you in the ring and talk with your fists,” he said.
Paul managed to evade the heavily favored Briton through a lackluster first four rounds before Joshua found his range, knocking his opponent down twice in the fifth round and finishing him off with a devastating right hand in the sixth.
“It took a little bit longer than expected but the right hand finally found its destination,” said Joshua, who was returning to the ring after a 15-month layoff.
“Jake Paul has done really well tonight. I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again. It was difficult in there for him, but he kept trying to find a way.
“It takes a real man to do that ... but he came up against a real fighter tonight.”
Paul, who stepped up from cruiserweight for the bout and has brought a new audience to boxing through his fights and promotion company Most Valuable Promotions, was no match for Joshua’s size, strength and experience.
“I think my jaw is broken,” Paul, 28, said before spitting out blood. “It’s definitely broke but man, that was good.”
Paul later confirmed on social media that he had suffered a “double broken jaw,” uploading an X-ray showing two breaks while he joked he was ready to fight Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez in 10 days’ time.
“I’m going to come back and get a world championship belt at some point,” Paul said.
Others were not convinced.
“This is a clown show,” former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling posted on X.
Paul frustrated Joshua, and viewers, by diving at the Briton’s legs repeatedly and ending up on the canvas in the early rounds.
