With tickets to his May 2 mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao set to fetch jaw-dropping prices, Floyd Mayweather felt no need to add to the hype this week, avoiding controversy with the same ease with which he evades punches.
Undefeated Mayweather even mustered up some faint praise for Pacquiao and refused to respond to taunts made by the Filipino’s trainer Freddie Roach, while offering effusive thanks to the media as he bobbed and weaved his way through a 30-minute conference without landing or taking a single blow.
With the two boxers choosing their words carefully, the biggest controversy in the build-up to what is expected to be the biggest grossing prize fight of all-time has been tickets for the bout, which have yet to go on sale.
“I don’t worry about tickets, I worry about the guy in front of me,” said Mayweather.
“Manny Pacquiao that’s my whole focus. Tickets is something I don’t deal with.”
About the same time Mayweather was sparring with the media reports circulated that a deal had been reached between the two fighters’ camps that saw tickets go on the market yesterday.
The MGM Grand is expected to pack in close to 16,500 for the fight but only about 1,000 seats will go on sale to the public with the rest going to the fighters, the casino, sponsors and promoters.
Reports have prices ranging from $1,500 in the upper level to $7,500 ringside but are expected to command an eye-popping $100,000 or more on the secondary resale market, putting them out of reach of all but the rich and famous.