By Mark Vester
There was a time when Roy Jones Jr. was a huge draw in the boxing business, but according to the Idaho Statesman his upcoming July 29 bout against Prince Badi Ajamu in Boise, Idaho is struggling to sell tickets.
The pay-per-view card scheduled for the Qwest Arena has seen very little interest in the fight, and the parties involved with the promotion of the card feel the reasons have to do with the average ticket price being more than $200 dollars, and the fact that Jones has done very little to help promote the event.
The paper reports that fewer than 700 tickets have been sold and the arena holds more than 5,000 for boxing. The promoters backing the event, Ritch Danner and Kasey Thompson agree that Jones has not done his part to help the show out.
In what has become a career trend for Jones, he skipped two press conferences to help promote his fight with Ajamu and has not told any of the parties involved on when he is set to arrive in Boise for final training. The actions of Jones have begun to make many concerned that the fight might not even happen.
"By having Roy physically in Boise — Roy's here, come see him — that is the best shot of selling tickets. It solidifies and shows he's going to be in Boise. People are not going to tie up $700 bucks for a hope-it-happens fight," Thompson said to the paper.
