Thursday 23 April 2015 10:21, UK
Tickets for the eagerly-awaited showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally go on sale on Thursday, just over a week before the pair square-up in Las Vegas.
A row between the rival camps over the final details on the fight contract and how tickets would be allotted had delayed their sale.
However, the dispute has now been settled and 500 tickets will go on sale to the general public with thousands of others released to ticket brokers and others.
Most of the tickets to the 16,500-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena are controlled by the two fight camps, with the remainder reserved by the MGM for its own customers.
They had been unavailable, though, because the two sides were feuding over who received which tickets and where they were located.
At stake were millions of dollars because the tickets could be sold by the two camps to ticket brokers for far more than retail price.
"We worked it out orally this morning," confirmed Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum. "Once the actual contracts are signed with the changes everyone agreed to we can move forward."
Tickets have been an issue since the fight was announced because the MGM's arena is far too small to meet the demand for seats at the mega-fight.
It wasn't until the two fighters met last month at a Los Angeles press conference formally announcing the fight that the price of the tickets was announced at $1,500 to $7,500 (£1,000 to £5,000)
Even that has changed, though, with the floor seats now retailing for $10,000 (£6,670). Two of those seats were listed on the Seatgeek.com website Wednesday for a total of $100,983 (£67,364), including a $15 delivery charge.
Though full details of the public ticket sale weren't announced, there reportedly will be 100 tickets sold in each of five price categories, not including the $10,000 (£6,670) floor seats.
The MGM also announced the sale of thousands of closed circuit seats at its various properties at $150 apiece (£100), while weigh-in tickets are available for $10 (£6.67).
Mayweather said on Wednesday he was not involved in the process.
"I don't worry about tickets," Mayweather said. "I worry about the guy in front of me, which is going to be Manny Pacquiao. That's my whole focus."
Book Mayweather v Pacquiao, Sky Sports Box Office, May 2, via your phone or online now. If you want to record the event, book via your Sky remote from April 25. skysports.com/maypac.
