t’s the fight that’s seen been shrouded by uncertainty for the better part of a decade, but Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao is official. Two of the sport’s most prolific boxers will battle at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 2, and fans looking to get past the turnstile will be greeted by the most expensive boxing tickets ever recorded on the secondary market.
While the fight’s purse will be split 60/40 in Mayweather’s favor, the estimated $200 million the two boxers will inherit has rightly titled the bought “The Fight of the Century”. The cheapest Mayweather vs Pacquiao tickets on TiqIQ currently available is listed above $4,000. Only this year’s Super Bowl saw similar prices, garnering a get-in price lingering around $5,000. The average price for the bout is in excess of $9,500, drawing unprecedented demand for a boxing match. Since TiqIQ started keeping track of secondary market data in 2010, only this past Super Bowl has seen a more expensive average price among all events.
Prospective fans will have to pony up heaps of cash if they want to witness history first-hand in Vegas this May. It won’t come cheap for fans hoping to watch from their couch, either, with preliminary pay-per-view prices listed at $89.95 and higher for HD preference. HBO’s contractual agreement with Pacquiao and Mayweather’s with Showtime will make the two PPV juggernauts jointly broadcast the fight. It will be the first time the two channels will simultaneously air a fight since Lennox Lewis defeated Mike Tyson at The Pyramid in Memphis in 2002.
If past fights are any indication of how high tickets to the May 2 fight will average on the secondary market, Mayweather vs Pacquiao tickets will likely eclipse Mayweather’s fight against Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas on September 14, 2013, which was the most expensive sporting event TiqIQ has recorded since 2010. The average price for tickets to that fight was $2,887.69. With anticipation building since initial talks began in 2009, the May 2 bout is sure to see a secondary average significantly higher than that.
The MGM Grand Garden’s 17,000-fan capacity will also have a large influence on the exorbitant ticket prices. Regarded as a small venue for such a notable fight, the MGM will make ticket demand increase significantly because of its smaller size, which will generate higher premiums for tickets on the secondary market.
May 2 will mark Mayweather’s first fight since a September 13, 2014 match against Marcos Maidana. It will be Pacquiao’s first professional fight since defeating Chris Algieri in a unanimous decision on November 23 of last year. Mayweather owns the better career record at 47-0 with 26 KOs while Pacquiao heads to Las Vegas with a 57-5-2 record and 38 KOs.