Spend $20 At Modell's, Get 2 Free Martinez-Barker Tickets

[ThePrince]

Now that's a helluva deal

Martinez vs Barker: Ticket Sales Dead in the Water for Saturday Fight

I'm not putting this up simply to be adversarial or point and laugh or whatever, but this is really bad. Middleweight champ Sergio Martinez did an in-store appearance at a Modell's in New York City today, and there was an offer for a free pair of tickets with $20 spent on Everlast products.

A free pair of tickets, for $20 spent at Modell's.

This, combined with several discounts and an offer of 30% off for those who had bought a ticket to the now-rescheduled October 29 fight between Andre Ward and Carl Froch, really points out the extreme difficulty promoters are having moving tickets to this fight.



So why is this one so bad?

Is it the fact that nobody knows Darren Barker? He's never fought on U.S. TV and hasn't exactly had a U.K. career that made waves worldwide. He's a domestic-level British fighter, basically. In today's crap middleweight division that puts him around top ten status (we have him No. 9), and it's not meant as an insult, because he's a fine, talented fighter. But he has no name value here.

Some of this has to lie with Sergio Martinez, though, and with this going on, and Sergio not exactly filling Atlantic City for recent fights, it's a lot easier to understand Miguel Cotto almost snickering at the idea that he could make $5 million to fight Sergio Martinez, as he did at a presser for the Margarito fight last week.

How much of it is location? Atlantic City has had trouble drawing for fights since Arturo Gatti retired, with the exception of Kelly Pavlik and his traveling Youngstown audience. How much of it is simply Martinez being an Argentinean fighter with no big fanbase, and Barker not being a traveling star from overseas even on the level of, say, Carl Froch? How much of it is a promotional problem?

I hate to see it happen to a guy like Sergio Martinez who is a legit champion, a charismatic guy, a top-tier fighter, and fights in an exciting style, but yes, look, boxing is hurting in the United States. Crowds just aren't coming out for fights in big numbers save for a Mayweather or Pacquiao fight, or someone with a legit regional draw, and those guys don't usually charge ticket prices like this fight has.

http://www.badlefthook.com/2011/9/27...saturday-fight

[onechance87]

martinez has no fans at all.This fight is a joke,I dont know how you
expect fans to go pay for a mismatch.

[Check_hooks]

If Martinez ever fights Pac or Cotto it should be a 95-5 split for Pac/Cotto

And dibella is to blame. That dude can't promote water to a whale with his bald ass

[DoktorSleepless]

haha, wow. It's gonna be empty as hell.

[ИATAS]

Darren Barker is a god damn legend in the US. This proves DiBella's theory that Pirog aint ***** and can't sell nothing, which is why the Great Darren Barker gets a shot instead.

Barker >>>>>> Pacquiao/Floyd.

I'm astonished this isn't on PPV. I'd pay $400 to watch this epic modern day Hagler-Hearns fight.

[DrewWoodside]

Originally Posted by ИATAS206

Darren Barker is a god damn legend in the US. This proves DiBella's theory that Pirog aint ***** and can't sell nothing, which is why the Great Darren Barker gets a shot instead.

Barker >>>>>> Pacquiao/Floyd.

I'm astonished this isn't on PPV. I'd pay $400 to watch this epic modern day Hagler-Hearns fight.

When the majority of ppl on NSB don't really know who Barker is.. a website of fight freaks.. Well no one is going to your fight. To be fair, this would not have sold much better had the opponent been Pirog.

Martinez needs a bigger name opponent or a very strong undercard.. He should honestly offer to fight Cotto for the price of his training camp. He'd get more out of it than beating Barker down.

[onechance87]

Originally Posted by DrewWoodside

When the majority of ppl on NSB don't really know who Barker is.. a website of fight freaks.. Well no one is going to your fight. To be fair, this would not have sold much better had the opponent been Pirog.

Martinez needs a bigger name opponent or a very strong undercard.. He should honestly offer to fight Cotto for the price of his training camp. He'd get more out of it than beating Barker down.

hbo is paying millions for this fight.They are over paying for this mismatch.
Hbo could used that money for a better fight,Like pirog-martinez.

[DrewWoodside]

Originally Posted by onechance87

hbo is paying millions for this fight.They are over paying for this mismatch.
Hbo could used that money for a better fight,Like pirog-martinez.

Showcasing a guy who's age suggests he should be in his twilight, without any clear plan for the future? It's a waste of money. No one knows who Darren Barker is, and casual fans barely know who Sergio Martinez really is. Is Andy Lee verse Brian Vera going to be televised? Because they should just make that the main event. That fight will actually be very competitive.

[DoktorSleepless]

Dibella should just get it over with and make the tickets free. At least he'll gain some fans when they see him fight.

[TR vs. GB]

Seriously why Darren Barker and not Pirog for this fight.

The two things hurting ticket sales for this event.

1. No one wants to see Martinez have a completely easy night and straight up own Barker.

2. The economy. I have a buddy who is a ticket broker mainly for concerts but for sporting events also and he told me out of 13 years of doing this it was by far the worst year he has ever had. People just dont have disposible income and are watching every penny these days.