iVB’s Ed Pereira has insisted that tickets are flying ahead of their upcoming event on July 11 at the Civic Center in San Francisco.
The event, which is aiming to break a world record attendance with 135,000 present at the show, will be topped by WBO flyweight champion Anthony Olascuaga’s defense against Andy Dominguez Velasquez. Some might think it ludicrous that the company which last year handled The Ring’s Times Square card could pull off such a record for a card topped by a flyweight, but Pereira is quietly confident.
“I think one of the key things that we’ve got is obviously the free tickets, so the free tickets are the ones that are going like hot cakes,” Pereira told BoxingScene. “We got $60 tickets, they’re going really, really strong as well. The seated tickets and the hospitality tickets are starting to really get going as well. The sales are looking really strong with no marketing. That’s the whole point. There’s no marketing. We’re about to start the marketing campaign.”
Pereira claimed that 80 per cent of the tickets for the event would be free to fans. To get 135,000 into the Civic Center would be an incredible feat. However, is there a number that Pereira would be happy with if they do not break the record?
“The reality is if I get 10 people, I’ll be happy,” Pereira admitted. “By the way, the tickets are going, I think we’re going to do very, very well. Will we hit the world record? I don’t know. We’re six, eight weeks out, whatever. I don’t know if we’ll hit the world record, but it’s a good target to go for, right?”
The hope is that the communities in San Francisco will take advantage of the free tickets to boost the attendance numbers. The Philippines’ Charly Suarez will feature on the card and Pereira hopes that will tempt in the locals.
“There are some really big communities in San Francisco,” he said. “One of the reasons why we put Charly Suarez [on the card] is there are 450,000 Filipinos in the Bay Area. I mean, there’s Filipino town, there’s Manila town, all in San Francisco. So, for me, it’s to say to the Filipino community, ‘Come out, support who I think is the best Filipino boxer right now, come and support him.’ And we’ll see how many of those we can fill in.
“And then obviously we’ve got two amazing Mexican-American boxers. One, Anthony Olascuaga, that is also loved by the Japanese. So, the reality is there’s a really big outreach, and we’re going to start an outreach to those communities to say, ‘Come on, you can spend $60 or you can come in for free and watch it,’ and however many of them come out, we’ll see if we go anywhere near 135,000.”
With so many of the tickets being available to fans for free it begs the question how iVB are funding the event?
“Look, it’s nice and simple. We’ve got investors, but we’ve also got money from the other businesses,” Pereira said. “I’ve got a few businesses and we’re investing that money ourselves as well. We’ve got sponsors. Obviously there’s going to be revenue from the broadcast. So that’s the range of where the revenue is coming in and that’s how we’re funding it. I think the vision for us is to make a profit, right? I like to give back, I want to make it for the community, but I’m going to make a profit and that’s what the aim is. That’s how we’re going to keep on rolling and growing the brand.”
And Pereira promised they have plans to stick around for the long run.
“I don’t come in to do something one-off and then disappear into the sunset. I’m trying to find a space,” said Pereira. “I think we’re offering something that the other promoters aren’t offering. And that’s kind of the idea. First of all, I started by saying I was a little mini promoter. I see myself as an event organiser rather than a promoter. We work with Sampson Lewkowicz and Paco as well, they’re the lead promoters.
“But I think, for me, this is kind of a journey that’s going to continue long into the years. So the vision for us is 12 big events over the next three years.”
