Ryan Garcia is not happy with the ticket prices for his upcoming fight, arguing that they are too high for most people to afford and thus likely to affect gate sales.
Garcia fights Devin Haney on Saturday, April 20th for the WBC junior welterweight world title, but with just days remaining, Ticketmaster’s seat map shows empty seats in nearly every section.
The news is surprising as Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and Garcia sold out (or nearly sold out) their previous pay-per-view bouts: Garcia against Gervonta Davis and Haney against Regis Prograis.
“I think, personally, the prices were very high and I want everybody to be in the building,” said Garcia at his media workout in Dallas, Texas for the pay-per-view during a media scrum. “I don’t think a lot of Americans can afford $500, $300 tickets for the top row.”
Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) even noted that he wouldn’t pay that despite having the money to do so. At the time of this writing, the cheapest tickets on Ticketmaster are $174.75, with some ringside seats commanding more than $8000.
Part of the problem may be a combination of location amd market oversaturation. The bout is taking place in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center, but neither fighter has strong East Coast connections. Garcia is originally from Southern Calif. (Victorville) and Haney splits his time between Oakland, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nev.
With no direct connection to the local market, high ticket prices, and inflation hitting the United States, the fight could well struggle to prove lucrative. Its proximity to other pay-per-view fights – March 30th’s Tim Tszyu–Sebastian Fundora fight, followed by Canelo Alvarez–Jaime Munguia on May 4th, and the undisputed heavyweight championship bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th – may also discourage fans from buying Haney-Garcia.
Another key factor may well be Garcia himself. Over the course of the past several weeks, he has been active on social media, sharing the kind of recelations and opinions that have had some observers expressing concern about his mental health. Naturally, Garcia doesn’t doesn’t feel anything he has said in the build-up to the fight has affected the fight; in addition to ticket prices, he places the blame squarely on what he considers to be his opponent’s lack of star power.
“I don’t think anything I said affected the fight – it is more so on him [Haney],” said Garcia. “Devin Haney is not a draw – and I have been definitely carrying this promotion on my back – by myself.”
Garcia is known for his quick hands and concussive blows, and asserted that the lack of power from Haney – who has a less than fifty percent knockout ratio in his professional career – is hurting excitement for the fight.
“Nobody wants to watch a guy that supposedly can’t crack an egg.”