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| June 20, 2003 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1424 |
Less interest for big fight in LA
LOS ANGELES, June 19: Los Angeles will host its first world heavyweight title fight in 45 years on Saturday when Lennox Lewis meets Vitali Klitschko at the Staples Center.
Does anyone in Los Angeles care? Apparently not.
Judging by an almost complete lack of interest and sluggish ticket sales, it might be another 45 years before promoters again attempt to bring another heavyweight championship bout to the City of Angels.
In a city bursting at the seam with movie stars and sporting celebrities, built around hype and the big event, the fight between Briton Lewis and Klitschko, a Ukrainian-born resident of Los Angeles, has generated little buzz.
Even in a country where soccer usually battles arena football and bowling for attention, the David Beckham transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid was creating more of a stir on Wednesday than the pre-fight press conference.
When promoters asked Klitschko to step in for Lewis’s original challenger Kirk Johnson after the Canadian injured his shoulder two weeks ago and was forced out, it was hoped the upgrade in opponent would spark an upturn in ticket sales.
But the giant Ukrainian’s involvement has not triggered a stampede to the ticket window.
Such is the lack of interest that there will be no money-spinning, pay-per-view for the event.
Instead, the bout will be shown live on HBO, providing little incentive for fans to go out and buy tickets slashed when Mike Tyson, still the biggest draw in boxing, decided he would not fight on the undercard.—Reuters
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