Manny Pacquiao.
The desert storm in a box office which some thought might pull the plug on the richest fight of all time has blown over.
Those priceless tickets will be on sale at 8pm on Thursday after weeks of wrangling and accusations between Mayweather Promotions and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum.
This thorny matter was settled at a meeting between Arum, Mayweather’s advisor Al Haymon and CBS television mogul Les Moonves who brokered the deal for the fight itself.
The issues over the number of tickets, credentials and hotel rooms to be made available to each camp were all resolved.
Since this required a separate contract with the MGM there was speculation that the fight might be in jeopardy.
In reality May 2 in the Grand Garden Arena was always going to take place.
Even Arum, angered as he was by delays he blamed on the Mayweather side for making the tickets release far later than for any big fight ever, had said: ‘There’s too much at stake for the plug to be pulled.
Like half-billion dollars which it is now expected to generate, with Mayweather and Pacquiao set to bank at least $180million and $120m respectively,
Arum adds: ‘All the matters have been agreed and the contract is being drawn up.’
The vast majority of the 16,500 tickets were always destined to be parcelled up between the two promoters, the two cable networks sharing the pay-per-view broadcast and the MGM hotel group for their clients and high rollers.
Only a token 1000 seats are going on public sale, at between $1,500 (£1,000) and $7,500 (£5,000) each.
But none for the super-ringside tickets costing $10,000 (£6,600). There are reports that those seats will exchanged hands on ‘the alternative market’ for upwards of $200,000 (£133,000)
As many as 50,000 tickets will be available to watch the fight at various MGM properties via closed-circuit television. Priced at $150 (£100), they will be on sale at 11pm on Thursday.