ESPN: Mayweather/Berto shaping up to be a box office dud

By ESPN's Darren Rovell If this is Floyd Mayweather's last fight, he's going out with a dud at the box office. With a little more than four days until Mayweather's fight against Andre Berto at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Ticketmaster shows there are more than 2,100 seats available -- and that doesn't even count the tickets that are typically held by the promoters. That's despite the fact that the face value of this fight -- ranging from $125 to $1,500 -- is significantly lower than the prices for Mayweather's fight in May against Manny Pacquiao. There are more than 2,100 seats still available for Floyd Mayweather's fight against Andre Berto despite reduced ticket prices from Mayweather's May fight against Manny Pacquiao. StubHub spokesman Glenn Lehrman said the leading resale site had an average ticket sale price of $5,095 for Mayweather's fight against Pacquiao, while the average sale for Saturday's fight is more than six times less ($799). As of 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning, only 25 seats to the Mayweather-Berto fight had been sold for more than $1,000 on StubHub. In fact, the site has done a bigger business on the Anthony Joshua-Gary Cornish fight in London on Saturday than Mayweather-Berto. While hotels in town had raised their prices to more than four times their normal rates for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, there has been no bump for Mayweather-Berto. Late last week, as ticket sales halted, MGM Hotels started offering more aggressive deals to those who have frequently stayed at their properties. One offer was $1,000 for a two-night stay at the MGM Grand that included two Mayweather-Berto tickets. The lack of interest in Mayweather's opponent is understandable. Berto has lost three of his last six fights, and many don't believe that this, Mayweather's 49th fight, will be his last because another win after this would allow him to pass Rocky Marciano's record of 49-0. "This is 100 percent his last fight," Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe reiterated to ESPN.com on Tuesday. Still, gamblers aren't particular intrigued with Mayweather-Berto either. In order to win $1 at the Wynn Sports Book, a bettor favoring Mayweather to win would have to risk $35. http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/13608641/floyd-mayweather-andre-berto-fight-more-2100-seats-available-low-ticket-prices

Comments (20)

Why is he comparing sales to the Pacquiao fight?

10y ago

5310

Well duh. He's just fighting out his contract and found a total bum to fight. Literally the easiest no hoper he could find without the athletic commission stepping in and threatening to cancel it=Berto.

10y ago

boliodogs

Of course. It shouldn't even be a pay for view. I'll watch the next weekend for free. Berto was knocked out by one good left hook from average punching Soto K. Berto is rated by boxrec as the 20th best welterweight in the world so there are at least 15 other welterweights Floyd could have fought that are rated higher than Berto.

10y ago

_original_

No reason to relish this news, it's just bad for the sport when the #1 draw declines so dramatically. He should have rematched Pac after he healed up. Might have done half the buys but even half is still several times more than this current fight. Not to mention what it does to his legacy. Do you want people's last memory of you as being someone who copped out and totally flopped? Yes, we'll all remember Floyd for his fight against Berto, not for any other accomplishment.... Just like Leonard and Duran are remembered for losing to Camacho and Ali is remember for the Berbick fight.

10y ago

Redd_Foxx

10y ago

PrBoxing88

not surprise, but fck maywather(great boxer) but there is Felix Verdejo to watch now...

10y ago

PBP

Fat Dan with another exclusive. And all this time I expected the fight to destroy the numbers for the Pacquiao fight.

10y ago

sicko

As it SHOULD! It is a Weak Fight on top of the buzz being gone from both Mayweather and Pacquiao after their fight. Mayweather is retiring at the right time while I think Pacquiao will struggle to sell his next fight as well. What is the reason to continue to watch these two now? Ready for the next ERA. This is the first Mayweather fight week I can remember in which it is just no energy towards it. Nobody Cares! All Access still doing good views on youtube because it is Free but no fuking way I'm ordering this sh1t but I will watch Congrats on a Great Career but I am glad it is coming to a close on Saturday and now it is time to focus on the younger and NEW Talent. All seem inline to fight each other and I'm sure a lot of those fights will be for Mayweather's Vacant Belt which will make those fights even bigger!

10y ago

MeanestNiceGuy

Pissing & moaning as usual.....

10y ago

Redeaux

Well lets not go that far. I don't see this costing much for anyone invested in it. Based on the numbers for the gate Stubhub is throwing out (An avg ticket price being sold on Stubhub of $5.1k for Floyd vs Pac & $800 for Floyd vs Berto, $4.4k was the avg actual price of all tickets so lets assume that $800 price is gonna make for an actual avg price of about $690 with the same % difference between Stubhub & actual from Floyd vs Pac, from there with 16.1k total seats & 2,100 left means 14k seats sold for an avg price of approx. $690 with a total gate of $9.6M) its still the 22nd biggest boxing gate in Nevada history above such fights as Trinidad vs Vargas, Pacquiao vs Bradley I & II, Pacquiao vs Mosley, Pacquiao vs Cotto, Pacquiao vs Hatton, De La Hoya vs Chavez & Mayweathers own matches vs Ortiz & Marquez. And this is assuming zero tickets sell from now til fight time which isn't gonna happen. I can only imagine there is a very similar PPV result where failure isn't very likely, there is only a failure vs other Mayweather productions which don't really matter anymore if this is the end of the road. You're right in that line of thinking (good information by the way, respect that), Mayweather is really his only competition in regards to generating profit and sales within the sport. What I was hinting at though is other fighters, who aren't of Mayweather's stature, trying to replicate that formula when they simply can't. It's one of the things that concerns me in boxing, the methodology and entitlement of upcoming fighters, that they'll try and copy this behaviour as it becomes the new normal. Yet hopefully if they look at this in real terms (assuming it bombs, which it will) and realise the relative percentage decline, they'll be put off from taking mockery exhibition fights themselves.

10y ago

paulf

I'm sure it's quite a drop, but comparing it to the Pacquiao fight is poor journalism. Mayweather-Pac is an outlier, a once in a lifetime event.... they should be comparing the numbers to something like Floyd-Guerrero for a more accurate picture of how bad the fight's doing.

10y ago

Redeaux

GGG vs Lemieux is on PPV though... some promoters, fighters, tv networks, and "fans" enjoy mismatches apparently(and on PPV at that lol). I agree with everything you said though. I agree that Golovkin vs. Lemieux isn't PPV worthy, but it's far more competitive and potentially exciting fight than Mayweather vs. Berto.

10y ago

R_Walken

10y ago

hhs661

If you're a huge fan, why aren't you watching? Many ways if you don't want to shell ou the 65-75 yourself. Go to the movie theater, a bar or strip joint, get together a few buddies. Why? because I have the right to choose if I wanna see this **** matchup or not. The name Andre Berto doesn't entice me into me watching this fight. It's not worth the price of admission at a bar(cover charge), theatre or ppv to me

10y ago

Dean_Razorback

i wonder what ellerbe is going to say when floyd comes back next year to fight at least one more time, i don't buy this being his last fight.

10y ago

Spit_Dialect

What a shocker, a guy who's basically a journeyman fighting the supposed pound for pound fighter is a dud? Man, I thought this was the real life Rocky!

10y ago

MasterPlan

I'm a huge Floyd fan. Have him in my top 3-5 favorite fighters of all time but **** this fight. I won't be watching it. And I might regret it but oh well. If it bombs then so be it. I'm really hoping he returns for a 50th fight, assuming he doesn't get Tyson'd/Buster'd by Berto If you're a huge fan, why aren't you watching? Many ways if you don't want to shell ou the 65-75 yourself. Go to the movie theater, a bar or strip joint, get together a few buddies.

10y ago

Beercules

"Something something something yall haters doe TBE!!"

10y ago

HardSpar

No surprise there. It's a blatantly shi!t fight and complete mismatch.

10y ago

Fetta

In other words, this fight has only sold 12 or 13,000 tickets and the live gate is going to be much smaller than Mayweather/Pacquaio. How shocking! I wonder if this writer will come back in two months and write a blog about how this dud of a fight sold more tickets than GGG/Lemieux and Cotto/Alvarez, had a larger live gate and a larger number of PPV sales than both of those fights? I doubt it! I also doubt that any of the haters who will eat this piece of crap passing itself off as legitimate journalism will say a word about it either. I did notice that and I was thinking doesn't the MGM hold like 15,000 or something like that and there's only 2100 left how is that a disappointment but whatever I don't care. I will say the M life did send an email to me and my wife about a deal to go to Vegas for the fight but we just got back from Hawaii and there's no way were doing that.

10y ago