“It's gonna be fun”

The party plan at Mario Odilerro’s house has been weeks in the making.
It will culminate when the long-awaited welterweight bout between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao aka Pacman and the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. burst on his new mega TV screen at about 9pm this Saturday.
“This is the fight of the century and I have about 50 people coming over with lots of Filipino goodies,” said Odilerro, a temporary foreign worker in Burnaby.
“Its gonna be fun,” said the father of two whose family in a Filipino barrio will be watching dad on skype with their TV on.
The pre-hype on the fight, the richest in boxing history, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will bring in a record $72 million in ticket sales. 
That’s 3 ½ times more than the $20 generated at the gate for Mayweather’s 2013 fight against Canelo Albarez, the previous record for a fight, reported boxingnews.
Estimates for total revenue range from $300 million to $400 million, with as much as $270 million coming from pay-per-view television.
The home pay-per-view price tag for the fight has been set at $89.99 for standard definition or $94.99 for the high-definition broadcast.
“It will break all the records. In terms of money, it will dwarf everything,” said Ray Rutter, president of Canadastar Boxing, the Canadian commercial pay-per-view rights holder for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, according to a blog post on the Vancouver Sun.
If you want to show the fight in a public place in Canada — whether it’s a bar, restaurant, casino or school gymnasium — you need to order it through Canadastar.
“And it isn’t cheap,” said Rutter. “It works out to about $20 per person.”
It will cost $2,000 to broadcast the fight in venue that seats 100 people.
The high price explains why many venues are charging cover for this fight.
Richmond’s River Rock Theatre, which seats 1,000, is selling tickets for $22.95, while the 1,000-seat Hard Rock Casino Theatre in Coquitlam is charging $16.50, but that price includes a free beer.
They are showing the fight for free at the Commodore Ballroom, with a venue capacity of 900, but all advanced tickets have all been claimed. 
As of Monday afternoon, there were more than 100 Lower Mainland sites – including 52 in Vancouver alone – listed as authorized venues at Canadastarboxing.com.
Rutter says Canadastar will have crews out on fight night searching for unauthorized broadcasts.
“We will have a full crew of investigators out that day,” he said. “We will hit all the major spots. If we find unauthorized showings, there will be lawsuits,” said the blog post in the Vancouver Sun.
Sales of Manny Pacquiao memorabilia have soared by up to 10 times in the Philippines ahead of the local superstar's fight against Floyd Mayweather.
Retailers are struggling to cope with the demand from supporters who are snapping up any paraphernalia they find, reported the Inquirer.
Online and front-end retailers have experienced record sales of T-shirts, boxing gloves, figurines, caps and jackets. Buyers are stocking up on items they believe could at least double in value if Pacquiao wins in Las Vegas on May 2.
"Many are buying because prices might rise further if Manny wins. So while the fight is still days away, they are already buying these items," said 50-year-old Carole Lynn Yap-Tan, who has been selling Pacquiao items online for four years.
Yap-Tan said her sales via Ebay have jumped 10 times since February when the fight was confirmed.
Boxing gloves with “Pacman’s” autograph printed on them are the best-selling item. The prices have risen at least 50 percent, said Yap-Tan.
Buyers are mostly from the United States, but some are from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
At Team Pacquiao, a store owned by the boxer himself, with branches in Manila and the southern Philippine city of General Santos, sales have nearly tripled, something not seen before Pacquiao's previous fights.
"If we had more stocks, we could have more sales," said Team Pacquiao sales representative Honey Gervacio.
Even street vendors in Manila are making a killing selling lower-priced Pacquiao T-shirts, with vendors in Divisoria district in downtown Manila saying customers often buy by the dozen.
The Philippines widely regard Pacquiao, also a congressman, actor, TV game show host, recording artist and player-coach in a professional basketball team, as a national idol.
Thousands of fans usually pack gymnasiums and public parks to watch free screenings of his fights on large LED screens throughout Manila.
Former eight-division champion Pacquiao is the underdog in the fight against the American, who has won 11 “world” titles in five divisions. But the Filipino’s supporters are convinced he will make history.
"I believe he will win, he will defeat Mayweather with his speed. Pacquiao is fast in the ring," Yap-Tan said.