Fight game spars with economy

With gasoline over $4 a gallon and ticket prices as high as $700, it's little wonder the so-called "Fight of the Year" between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito isn't a sellout.

Apparently even hard-core boxing fans are thinking twice about whether to come to Las Vegas for the WBA welterweight title fight Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.

But MGM officials don't seem overly concerned, nor does fight promoter and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. And HBO Pay-Per-View executives are gleefully anticipating what they think will be a massive amount of buys.

Richard Sturm, president of sports and entertainment for MGM Mirage, said his company isn't afraid to book fights in spite of the slumping economy. It already this year has hosted Kelly Pavlik's rematch win over Jermain Taylor and two Manny Pacquiao fights, including his March 15 thriller over Juan Manuel Marquez in probably 2008's best fight so far.

"We're an event-driven property," Sturm said. "Having the arena, both here (at MGM) and at Mandalay Bay, is a tremendous asset to bringing people in. Even during these difficult economic times, people still want to get away and enjoy an event like this."

After Cotto-Margarito, the MGM will stay busy in the fight game for the rest of the year. Marquez fights Joel Casamayor Sept. 13, Ricky Hatton meets Paulie Malignaggi on Nov. 22, and Oscar De La Hoya's final fight in his Hall of Fame career will be Dec. 6. All three bouts will be at the Grand Garden.

"We've had a very good year with boxing," Sturm said. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

Sturm said a fight the magnitude of Cotto-Margarito belonged at his hotel rather than in Atlantic City, where it almost certainly would have sold out because Boardwalk Hall seats 4,000 fewer people than the Grand Garden and Cotto's New York fan base could easily drive there.

"We believed it was going to be a great fight, one people had been waiting for, and we appreciate that (Arum) brought it to the MGM," Sturm said. "You know when you have a good fight you want to get it, and we try to get the biggest and best fights here, and that's what we did with this fight.

"I know it's going to have a positive impact on our property. How much, I don't know. But we hope it will sell out, and people have been talking about this fight for weeks."

Sturm said he didn't need to convince his bosses to sign off on Cotto-Margarito.

"Everyone knows the benefits of events at both Mandalay Bay and MGM," he said. "It doesn't take a whole lot of explaining. People are very smart here, and drawing from these demographics is worth the time and expense to bring these events here."

Arum said he is pleased with ticket sales, saying 80 percent of the Grand Garden's 16,270 seats are accounted for.

"We'll be fine," he said. "There's tremendous interest, and most of the higher-priced tickets are already gone. We thought we scaled the tickets reasonably ($100, $200, $300, $500 and $700) for a fight of this magnitude."

For those who can't be there in person, HBO is offering the fight for $49.95. Locally, Cox Cable will carry the fight on its PPV channels, both in analog and high definition.

Mark Taffet, HBO vice president for pay per view, said the telecast might be a panacea for fight fans in these tough economic times.

"As long as you provide the right kind of fights, the right kind of matchups and you give boxing fans a reason to gather together, it's a reasonable option," Taffet said. "We've found that the average pay-per-view customer has between five, six seven people gather at these fights. If you divide the $49.95 five to seven ways, that's $8 to $10 per person. That's cheaper than a movie ticket."

Taffet cites last month's Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight as one that wasn't a big hit with the pay-per-view audience, drawing about 225,000 buys. When Pacquiao fought Marquez in March, the fight had 400,000 buys and $20.2 million in sales.

"Cotto-Margarito couldn't be a better matchup," Taffet said. "It crosses over because these are two of the greatest fighters in the hottest division in the world and this is a fight boxing fans have been looking forward to for a long time."

Taffet said he expects the Latino market to drive pay-per-view sales.

"This fight reminds me a lot of (Felix) Trinidad-(Fernando) Vargas in 2000," he said. "That was a great matchup that transcended Puerto Rico vs. Mexico and became a great fight. That fight did 560,000 buys, and this fight clearly has the potential to do similar numbers."

But, because of the economy, Taffet stops short of predicting a pay-per-view tally.

"You can never tell how people are going to spend their money," he said. "But if people decide to gather and watch the fight together like we think they will, Cotto-Margarito should do very well."

• NOTES -- Today's 2:30 p.m. weigh-in at the Grand Garden is open to the public. ... The undercard is highlighted by Cesar Cancila against Giovani Segura for the WBA interim light flyweight title. ... Top Rank has a card today at the Hard Rock hotel, with welterweights Jesus Soto-Karass facing David Estrada in the main event for the WBC Intercontinental Americas title. First bell is at 4:15 p.m.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.