Promoters Don King and Gary Shaw fired backed at media reports about horrible ticket sales for the January 29 bout between Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley and Devon Alexander “The Great” at the Pontiac Silverdome. Arena officials will curtain off parts of the dome to accommodate about 10,000-15,000 fans. Here is what both promoters had to say:
Don King: [The Silverdome] are very happy about what they’ve done because it brings significant note to the building which has been suffering hard knocks and broken dreams, so what it is is a great boost to them. The fight in itself will be seen by millions and millions of fans worldwide and that’s really what it’s all about….and as you know in boxing it has always been the walk-up and last two or three days. Nothing has changed in the custom and tradition of the sport that would enable anyone to say whether they have less ticket sales today or more ticket sales tomorrow. The ticket sales will not determine the greatness of this fight.
Gary Shaw: I put on the greatest fight in the decade, Corrales-Castillo. We didn’t sell 2,000 tickets. I’ve never heard anyone say that wasn’t a fight that was extraordinary….the fight is bigger than the site!….All you writers have written about how us promoters should get out of the casinos and go out and do something in local areas. Give Don and I some credit for being willing to go into Detroit. Give the owner of the Silverdome the credit for wanting to show off a site that he bought and show that he can do boxing there. I don’t care if we draw 500 people. Give us the credit for going out and doing it. Give the credit to two fighters and two trainers who don’t care where they go!
