By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao said yesterday he wants the announced P1,000 general admission ticket prices slashed by at least fifty percent following a rash of complaints from Pacquiao fans who are mainly from the lower income brackets and cannot afford to pay such a stiff price.

In a long distance telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today from his home in General Santos City, Pacquiao said he was not aware of the ticket prices, adding “dapat P500 or below.”

An official of the Araneta Coliseum said there was no way they would allow general admission tickets to be sold at P1,000 because it was against the philosophy of the  respected businessman-sportsman, the late  J. Amado Araneta who built a venue for Filipinos to enjoy  world class entertainment at affordable prices. 

In the recent wrestling extravaganza that drew a packed house, general admission tickets were priced at P300.

Trainer Freddie Roach told Boxing Talk correspondent Brad Cooney that the issue of ticket prices was "out of our hands" since it was being handled by ABS-CBN and "they say they know what they are doing. ABS says they are in control and they say this fight will sell out within a week." However, ABS-CBN vice president for sports Peter Musgni earlier stressed that they had not even spoken to Araneta management about ticket prices and the story didn't come from them.    

Meantime, Pacquiao revealed he was following doctors orders and taking a “good rest” in his hometown and would remain in General Santos City for some time. Pacquiao was recently hospitalized at the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital due to over-fatigue. He was also found to be suffering from hyper-acidity which meant he couldn’t touch alcohol, milk and spicy food among others.

Pacquiao said he needed the rest because the July 2 WBC International super featherweight title defense against former two-time super bantamweight champion Oscar Larios was not an easy fight. Pacquiao said “I myself will confess this is a hard fight. He is tall and his style is not easy to handle.”