With the big WBC/WBO Jr. Welterweight unification bout between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander taking place in Pontiac, Michigan one week from now the poor ticket sales have overshadowed the first big fight of the year. The Silverdome has reportedly been configured for seven thousand and various reports have it has high as fifteen thousand and the ticket sales somewhere between five hundred and two thousand with the first five rows ringside being used by promoters, media etc. Publicity for the HBO event has been what you would expect, yet the interest is not there for local fans.

Ticket prices range from twenty five dollars up to four hundred dollars ringside and in this day and age for a fight of this magnitude it is a bargain. The first thing that comes to mind is the choice of the venue as most fans prefer an arena or casino as opposed to a dome stadium where the atmosphere is not the same and even with premium seats you are still pretty far from the action in the ring. Promoters should release tickets at the earliest possible date to ensure they have the option of moving to another city if need be.

The UFC had to do that for one of their events last year as sales were poor and they moved it from Utah to Southern California. To a certain extent the poor economy hurts everyone, not just the sport and the smart logic would suggest that you stay in cities where you know the market is strong and to break out in a new areas start out in a casino or a small arena and take it from there. You have to give Don King and Gary Shaw credit for sticking with it and not pulling the plug on the whole thing which would be easier said than done. The line-up for next Saturday is strong and I hope they will have a good walk up crowd.

Boxing fans will always be there through the good and bad and there is no reason why you can't be somewhat optimistic about the future. I am a die-hard fan and as I sit down and write this I plan on watching the Evander Holyfield vs. Sherman Williams PPV over the free UFC event on Spike TV. Not thrilled it is a PPV but I am a fan of many of the fighters and it will be the only chance I get to see it and for thirty dollars it is a nice alternative then going out on a night on the town and spending a ton of money.

In closing I would like the powers that be at Showtime and HBO to take Canada into consideration when looking for a host city. Montreal is a hotbed and almost every show regardless of venue size sells out and in a smaller capacity Vancouver and Edmonton draw fans very well. For decades Canada has been a big supporter of the sweet science and if given more of an opportunity we can bring these hard working athletes here to apply their craft with much love and appreciation!