Only 348 Tickets Sold to Don King’s 4/12 Card in Vegas

by David P. Greisman

An April 12 card put on in Las Vegas by Don King Productions sold just 348 tickets and actually had more than that (413 tickets) given away for free, according to figures provided by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The five-fight card — held at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, and with two of those bouts aired on Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation” — pulled in a total gate of $34,800. That is an average of $100 per ticket sold, which makes sense, given that all of the tickets for the event were $100 each.

Zero tickets went unsold.

The “ShoBox” broadcast featured a main event in which late replacement Bahodir Mamadjonov scored a ninth-round stoppage of fellow lightweight Angelo Santana. Mamadjonov improved to 13-1 with 9 knockouts, while Santana suffered his first defeat and is now 14-1 with 11 knockouts.

In the co-feature, junior welterweight Amir Imam won by second-round technical knockout over Jeremy Bryan. Imam is now 9-0 with 8 knockouts, while Bryan is 16-3 with 7 knockouts.

UPDATE: A person associated with the event tells BoxingScene.com that the casino paid a site fee of $100,000 for a show that catered to its high rollers, who would receive free tickets. The card also received a license fee from Showtime for the "ShoBox" broadcast.

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com