Media condemnation had no effect earlier today on fan demand for Pacquiao-Mosley, which sold over 16,000 tickets after just three hours.
The ticket boom happened from 10 am-1 pm for the May 7 showdown, which will take place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Pacquiao’s last appearance there was a November 2009 TKO over Miguel Cotto. Mosley last appearance was a May 2010 losing effort against Floyd Mayweather.
The arena has a seating capacity of 16,800, leaving less than one thousand tickets available.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was ecstatic with the news, stating he had never seen anything like it going back to his days promoting Muhammad Ali in the 70s.
“Incredible. Simply incredible. I have never promoted a fight that has sold so many tickets so quickly,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “Manny Pacquiao never ceases to amaze the world with his achievements. The excitement he generated today with the initial tickets makes it feel like the fight week already.
The pay-per-view will be Pacquiao’s first fight for the Showtime network.
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As much as this fight has been bashed, the irony of it being possibly the highest grossing boxing event of the year shows you how big Manny Pacquiao has become. Mosley is not a ticket-seller, and I’m certain Pacquaio would have done this same numbers with Andre Berto or Juan Manuel Marquez.. Considering the history with Marquez,, they might have done more. These are huge sales, and Showtime’s Fight Camp 360 and CBS commercial spots haven’t even kicked in yet.
Boxing fans expect Pacquiao to dominate this fight, and are disappointed this is even happening. But casuals who tune in just want to see a big KO, and the likelihood of Pacquiao delivering that is high. This fight could serve as a great exhibition to retrointroduce boxing as an exciting sport to those who’ve been away.
The next few months will be very interesting to observe. I know all the execs at Showtime are smiling ear to ear.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 