OSCAR DE LA HOYA predicted Thursday (April 18) that a late surge in ticket sales for the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia card will lead to a sellout Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Fans and media have speculated since the ticket sale that the price was too high, especially since neither Haney nor Garcia had played a show at the venue. They highlight the majority of available tickets from social media seating maps and note that this DAZN Pay-Per-View main event isn't quite the can't-miss mega-fight that everyone in attendance suggests .
Garcia even publicly complained that De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions took the fight to the home of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets because the Victorville, California native believed it belonged in the Las Vegas or Los Angeles area.
Having the venue ready for Saturday night is one of the reasons Golden Boy brought the 25-year-old contender to Brooklyn. According to De La Hoya, that decision will not be a mistake when Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) enter the ring for their 12-round fight for Haney's . WBC super lightweight title.
“And contrary to what everyone is saying, the fight is exciting and exciting,” De La Hoya said in their final press conference. “It's a hot ticket, so everything you're hearing out there with social media and posts, this and that, it's not – we have about 1,500 tickets left. Walk-in tickets will sell out so you have to get your tickets quickly.”
Advertisers have a habit of exaggerating ticket sales estimates, but Haney's advertising representative, Eddie Hearn, seconded his rival's sell-out forecast. Hearn pointed out after the press conference that tickets for Haney-Garcia would sell out if consumers could have more confidence than until recently that Garcia could actually fight the night.
“I mean, listen, as a promoter, I don't hate it,” Hearn said when asked about Garcia's antics.
“The only thing I hate is probably that people might believe he won't be in the fight. And that's why now you see it as a late sell-out instead of an early sell-out.”
Haney established himself as a draw in the United States by helping attract an announced crowd in excess of 16,000 to the Chase Center in San Francisco for his final fight, a 12-round loss to the former WBA/WBC 140-pound titleholder Regis Prograis on December 9. Two fights ago, Garcia and another of his opponents, Gervonta Davis, drew 20,842 spectators to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and generated 22 $.8 million in ticket sales for the fight, which Davis won by seventh-round knockout.
