Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight is a tough ticket -- to sell

source: Kevin Baxter | Los Angeles Times

LAS VEGAS -- Less than 24 hours before the doors open for Manny Pacquiao's world title fight with unbeaten Timothy Bradley, Las Vegas ticket brokers said Friday they were having trouble unloading seats for the eight-bout card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

"It's weak. Really weak," said one ticket seller, who blamed the lagging economy. But overexposure may be playing a role too.

Eight of Pacquiao's last 10 fights have been in Las Vegas. And just five weeks ago Floyd Mayweather Jr., fought in the same arena, packing it.

But Todd deBoef of Top Rank, which is promoting the fight, said there is often a difference in how fast tickets sell on the primary market -- in the box office -- and on the secondary market through brokers.

Another indication of the flagging interest in Pacquiao: while thousands of fans were turned away from Mayweather's pre-fight weigh-in, the arena was a third empty for the Pacquiao-Bradley weigh-in, which was open free to the public.

Pacquiao, who has attempted to reorder his life after racking up millions of dollars in gambling debts, showed up at the weigh-in with a noticeably smaller entourage. And after tipping the scales at 147 pounds, the welterweight limit, he seemed almost uninterested in the fight, smiling as Bradley taunted him.

"Well, I'm happy," he told boxing analyst Max Kellerman when asked why he was smiling. After thanking God and his fans, Pacquiao gave Kellerman a series of quick answers. When asked why Bradley seemed so serious, for example, he told Kellerman, "I don't know." And when asked how Bradley could beat him, the champion said, "We'll see tomorrow."

Bradley, meanwhile, was fired up, saying that he was "ready for war."

When many in the pro-Pacquiao crowd booed him at the weigh-in ,Bradley, who is unbeaten in 28 pro fights, answered by telling Kellerman, "I've been here before. None of these people are going to be in the ring tomorrow. It's just going to be me and Manny Pacquiao."

Bradley looked to be incredibly fit when he stepped on the scales, leaving Pacquiao seeming a bit soft in comparison.

"Look at my physique," Bradley said. "I trained long and hard for this fight."

DeBoef said fewer than 2,000 tickets were available at the box office Friday afternoon with the least expensive going for $300. The arena will be configured to hold 16,300 spectators and Top Rank chief Bob Arum said he expects a crowd of just less than 16,000.