By Jake Donovan
There were less than 300 tickets available heading into October, and just 10 tickets left at the box office heading into fight weeks.
Two days before Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux throw down in their middleweight unification bout, the event moved from a virtual sell out to an official one.
“Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden is completely sold out,” Tom Loeffler, managing director of K2 Promotions – who has expertly handled Golovkin’s career to date – confirmed during the undercard press conference Thursday afternoon in New York City.
While tickets still remain available on the secondary market (roughly 2,580 available on StubHub as of Thursday afternoon), nearly 90% of the estimated 21,000 seats are truly spoken for in terms of those who purchased without the intent of resale. That number figures to dramatically increase – if not reach 100% outright – by fight night.
The ticket status is impressive considering there isn’t a single local fighter to appear on the show. Furthermore, the HBO Pay-Per-View portion of the show is loaded with international flavor, with none of the televised fighters born in the lower 48 states. In fact, Brian Viloria – who faces unbeaten World flyweight champ Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (Nicaragua) in the co-feature – the only U.S.-born fighter on the PPV, as the 2000 U.S. Olympian with Filipino roots was born and raised in Hawaii.
“Only in the U.S. can you have a fighter from Canada (Lemieux), a fighter from Kazakhstan (Golovkin), a fighter from Nicaragua, a fighter from… Cuba… and sell out The Garden,” noted Oscar de la Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions represents Lemieux. “What a beautiful country and the people who live in it. That’s what it’s all about. God bless the US-of-A.”
Also on the Pay-Per-View (Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET, $49.95 SRP, +$10 for HD):
- unbeaten heavyweight Luis Ortiz (Florida via Cuba) faces Argentina’s Matias Ariel Vidonodo;
- Tureano Johnson – who represented Bahamas in the 2008 Beijing Olympics – meets Ireland’s Eamonn O’Kane in a middleweight eliminator to determine the next mandatory challenger for the winner of Golovkin-Lemieux
The show represents the first time that Golovkin and Lemieux are featured in a PPV headliner. Lemieux (34-2, 31KOs) has served as a major draw in Montreal, while Golovkin (33-0, 30KOs) has become a major boxing superstar in the United States, particularly in the New York City and Los Angeles markets, in addition to his being a huge ratings hit for American cable giant HBO.
Event handlers have structured the show to where it’s not dependent on blockbuster PPV numbers. Of course, they will take it, but rough estimates suggest that anything above 200,000 units sold will be considered a success, with anything above that serving as profit to divide among both camos.
Given the demand and the buzz surrounding this event, the feeling is that there will be plenty of good news – and profit – to share in the end.
“I had the other day – six of my relatives, watching the fight because of this man (points to the camera-friendly Lemieux),” insists de la Hoya, himself a major female fan magnet during his Hall of Fame career. “We are attracting the world; this is an international event, with two international fighters, two champions, two middleweights giving you the best fight that you can possibly watch.
“I’ve been involved in some of the biggest events in boxing history. We’ve had the pleasure of promoting most of them. This feels to me like a mega event. Casual fans are asking about this fight.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
