The contract for the May 2 Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight had "not been signed" as of yesterday, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Top Rank Chair Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, yesterday said that he "wasn't signing the contract that he received a draft of on April 15 because it wasn't what he agreed to when the MGM, Mayweather Promotions and he signed the term sheet." Arum: "We agreed that we would all be signatories on the final contract and then they sent us a draft of the agreement and it excluded us." Rovell noted not being a signatory means Top Rank "wouldn't have control of decisions during the fight." Arum: "They don't want us to have any say. So whether they came up with the deal between Mayweather and MGM before or after our agreement, they've committed fraud either way." Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe "disagreed with Arum's characterization of the original deal." He said, "Bob isn't willing to live with the agreement signed a couple months ago, which doesn't allow him to be in control." Rovell noted tickets to the fight have not yet "been printed and tickets to the closed circuit viewing of the fight at MGM Hotels also have not gone on sale." A source said that MGM "proposed on Tuesday to be allowed to start selling the closed circuit tickets and any public tickets to fight immediately, with everything else frozen as talks proceed" (ESPN.com, 4/21). Arum: "As it stands, Manny doesn’t have a say on anything. We’re prepared to go to the attorney general if need be to get this resolved, but I don’t think it will come to that" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/22). Pacquiao said that he "is concerned about the lack of ticket sales," but he does not believe that the fight "is in danger of being canceled." Pacquiao: "This fight is too important to boxing. There is too much at stake" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/21).
THAT'S THE TICKET: In Las Vegas, Steve Carp reports Top Rank yesterday "received a manifest from the MGM Grand with its ticket allotment and seating chart showing the distribution of tickets for the fight." Each fighter is receiving 30% of the tickets as "outlined in the negotiated terms of the contract" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/22). YAHOO SPORTS' Kevin Iole reported only 500 tickets "are expected to be available to the public, with 100 each available at $7,500; $5,000; $3,500; $2,500; and $1,500" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/21). Iole wrote the ticket situation is tantamount to a "farce, and it's turning what could be a great sporting event into a question mark." Millions of dollars "are floating out the window each day that passes without tickets on sale" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/21).
HYPE MACHINE: In Las Vegas, Ray Brewer wrote the hype for the bout "has reached never-seen-before levels and it’s still more than a week away." The anticipation "has surpassed Mayweather’s 2007 fight with Oscar De La Hoya, or one of those Mike Tyson fights" in the '90s. A-list celebrities "will receive tickets, but reportedly only if they wear apparel from sponsors." Some reports have ringside seats "valued at six figures." About one-third of the MGM gift shop "has fight apparel, mostly shirts and hats for Mayweather’s The Money Team brand, with prices as high as $88 for a leather hat" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 4/21).
