{"id":47947,"date":"2015-04-29T00:19:08","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T16:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=47947"},"modified":"2015-04-29T00:19:08","modified_gmt":"2015-04-28T16:19:08","slug":"excitement-builds-as-fight-of-the-century-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/04\/29\/excitement-builds-as-fight-of-the-century-nears\/","title":{"rendered":"Excitement builds as Fight of the Century nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The highly anticipated fight between Filipino boxing superstar and eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and undefeated pound-for-pound kingpin Floyd Mayweather Jr., billed as the \u201cFight of the Century,\u201d is getting Filipinos all hyped up and ready to party.<\/p>\n

Less than a week before the big fight, Pinoys all over are gearing up like it\u2019s the single most important event of their lives. In Metro Vancouver alone, several big \u201cPacMan parties,\u201d\u2014pay-per-view events in households and public places\u2014have been organized to draw in the crowds and collectively cheer for the Filipino boxing icon. <\/p>\n

Even mainstream Canadians and politicians are joining the bandwagon. For instance, the Conservative Party, at the instance of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reportedly a Pacquiao fan, is spending precious dollars to show the fight for free at the popular Polish Community Centre in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, fans have to chip in from $10 to $35, depending on the venue and the \u201cpackage\u201d offered. For example, at the Bite at the Quay, organizers are charging $35 for the show, making it seem more expensive than the rest, but the eat-all-you-can buffet and dance-till-you-drop party package makes it uniquely attractive. <\/p>\n

Bottom line is that fans are no longer satisfied tuning in the comfort of their living rooms; they prefer watching, cheering and partying with friends and family as Pacquiao figures in yet another heart-stopping blockbuster fight. <\/p>\n

This match figures to be the biggest there will ever be\u2014bigger than any Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson or Sugar Ray Leonard superfight. Pay-per-view costs a record $100 for every household, pricier than any other previous Mayweather or Pacquiao fight. Despite the hefty tag, the fight is all but certain to break all previous PPV records, as revenues are expected to top $300 million.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, tickets at the fight venue, MGM Grand in Las Vegas, are priced at $1,500 to $7,500 but reportedly sell for much more in the secondary market. According to Price Tracker SeatGeek, ticket sales went as high as $17,850, making the fight the most expensive sports ticket ever.<\/p>\n

Here are some public PPV events and venues in Greater Vancouver showing the megabout, with their corresponding price tags:<\/p>\n

\u2022\tSt. Patrick\u2019s Gym – $10 adult; $5- children ages 13-18; free for children 12 & under. Food and drinks to purchase.
\n\u2022\tPolish Hall \u2013 free admission with RSVP. Sponsored by the Conservative Party. Cash bar.
\n\u2022\tRiver Rock Theatre in Richmond – $22.95;
\n\u2022\tHard Rock Casino Theatre in Coquitlam – $16.50. Price includes a free beer.
\n\u2022\tCommodore Ballroom \u2013 free. All tickets have all been claimed.
\n\u2022\tR\u2019s Music Venue in King George Ave., Surrey – $10 plus live party-dance music.
\n\u2022\tThe Donnelly Pub Group – six pubs including Lamplighter, Tavern, Library Square, Bimini, Butcher & Bullock and Cinema and two downtown Boston Pizza locations.
\n\u2022\tFrat House of the UP Alumni Association of BC – $20 with dinner plus one beer or soda.
\n\u2022\tBite at the Quay – $35 with eat-all-you-can buffet and dance-till-you-drop party.<\/p>\n

More than 100 Lower Mainland sites are authorized venues by Canadastar boxing.com. – MM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The highly anticipated fight between Filipino boxing superstar and eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao and undefeated pound-for-pound kingpin Floyd Mayweather Jr., …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":47948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1481],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-comm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}