Khan and McCloskey sell 9000 tickets on first day, set new venue record

http://www.examiner.com/fight-sports-in-pittsburgh/khan-and-mccloskey-sell-9000-tickets-on-first-day-breaks-venue-record

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WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan yesterday announced that his April bout with undefeated Irish challenger Paul McCloskey has broken the Manchester Evening News record for first day ticket sales, selling over 9000 in the first day alone.
Khan said of the ticket sales:

"The venue I'm fighting have just sold 9,000 tickets on the first day. The most they ever sold at the M.E.N tickets selling quick guys."

The news is especially impressive given the fact that McCloskey isn't what would typically be thought of as a big name opponent, and that Khan, while growing ever more well known, has yet to reach the kind of popularity that British fighters such as Ricky Hatton attained in their primes.

Ricky Hatton himself fought Kostya Tszyu at the M.E.N arena, undoubtedly his most impressive performance, and sold a total of 22,000 tickets. How many Khan and McCloskey will sell in total is not yet known, although probably won't be far off this number.

The success also brings to mind Khan's Wild Card stable mate and training partner Manny Pacquiao, whose much derided May bout against Shane Mosley sold 16000 tickets in the first day of sales. That fight too will probably be a capacity crowd, proving that certain fighters can sell regardless of what the media thinks of the chances of the opponent.
McCloskey was quoted yesterday at the Manchester leg of the mini-press tour as saying that he expected 5000 fans to make the journey over from Northern Ireland to support him, and with the Belfast press conference happening earlier today, the ticket sales today should also be very impressive.

Khan said of the Northern Ireland leg of the press tour: "Got to Bolton, great trip to Ireland (Belfast) press conference. Good to travel there to see my fans and promote this fight"

Khan at one point also hinted about the strength and conditioning coach hired by Freddie Roach to replace Alex Ariza, who split with team Khan last week after a very public disagreement over money among other issues. Asked by fans who the new face in his team would be, Khan answered: "A guy called Micheal Freddy picked him"

Meanwhile, according to Fanhouse's Lem Satterfield, Khan's promoters are already in the early stages of putting together a fight against divisional rival Tim Bradley, who solidified his place at the top of the rankings with a win over Devon Alexander earlier this year.
Vic Maher, Pitt: "Khan will be as popular as Hatton someday if he keeps being in exciting fights like the Maidana one. He's had a lot more early exposure than the likes of Hatton or Pacquiao because of his Olympic career and he's great with the press"

Seamus Bowles, Boston: "McCloskey could be a big name over here if he fought the right guys, Duddy was a big draw and he never really won anything that big"