It’s the fight of the century! The most exclusive
sporting event ever to be held! Anticipation for this Saturday’s boxing
match pitting the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. against Manny Pacquiao
has reached well past hype to record levels of fever pitch, never mind
that many sports analysts predict a dud.The action is expected to begin Saturday at about 11 p.m. EDT at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.Here are your options for watching what may or may not be the greatest boxing match of all time:
In person: For the (private) jet set only
If you’ve already shelled out for a trip to Las Vegas or your private jet is fueled and ready to go, you’ll be happy to know there are plenty of tickets available on resale sites. Get ready for the sticker shock: Prices even for the worst seats are upward of $3,000. On StubHub, the highest priced ticket as of 7 p.m. EDT Thursday was a ringside seat going for $292,505.25. A few rows back, you could get in for $117,005.24.In your home: Pay-per-group
Most people will opt to watch from the comfort of their own home on pay-per-view: about $100 to watch in high definition and $90 in standard definition. Find a few friends or family members to go in on the cost together, and you’re looking at the most reasonable way to tune in. Depending on your cable provider, you can order over the phone, online or with your remote. The fight is expected to generate at least 3 million pay-per-view buys.Online: The live stream has been knocked out
Watching an unauthorized online stream of the match would certainly be the cheapest (if ethically questionable) route to go, but Showtime and HBO may have already beat you to the punch. The networks, co-producers and codistributors of the match, have filed a lawsuit against “John Doe 1 d/b/a boxinghd.net,” “John Doe 2 d/b/a sportship.org” and seven other anonymous defendants alleged to be advertising unauthorized live streams. The Hollywood Reporter goes into all the details and includes the actual complaint in the suit here, but leave it to say that HBO and Showtime are doing everything they can to ensure you won’t be watching that illegal feed come Saturday.Around the World: You can still pay nothing — in Mexico
If you’re curious about how the rest of the world will be watching, and how much they’ll be paying, the Guardian has it broken down by country. Mexico, Colombia, China, France, Thailand and the Philippines (Pacquiao’s homeland) will all be showing the match for free.In the neighborhood: Prepare for cover charges and crowds
If you’re planning to visit your local sports bar, call ahead to check the cover charge and make sure they will, in fact, be showing it. Buffalo Wild Wings made news by saying it won’t be showing the fight at most of its U.S. locations because of the price — a whopping $5,100 per restaurant, according to Bloomberg. Expect cover charges to be higher than usual — $20 seems to be the going rate, though plenty of places will undoubtedly charge more.Like Us on Facebook!
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