So much for tough negotiations.
Getting Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to agree to fight each other was supposed to be a task bordering on the impossible. Sort of like Democrats and Republicans settling on health care reform.
Or worse.
With the egos involved, conventional wisdom said they’d never agree on the purse. One — or both — would surely demand more than a 50-50 split.
And surely there would be other problems. Such as, which fighter would take top billing?
But sanity apparently won out. And it took only a couple of weeks to happen.
The fight many are calling the richest in decades — and biggest since the classic battles featuring Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler of the 1980s — apparently is on after Pacquiao signed a contract Friday, according to published reports.
Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum, met for two hours over breakfast in Manila on Friday to discuss the fight.
There apparently were some minor adjustments sought by Pacquiao and, once those were made, Pacquiao later in the day inked the deal.
Mayweather previously had agreed to terms with Golden Boy Promotions, his promoter for the HBO Pay-Per-View fight, but it is unknown if he actually has signed a contract.
The bout reportedly will take place at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds for Pacquiao’s WBO title.
Some other interesting details have been revealed. One is a 50-50 split of the money, perhaps the most shocking of all.
But with the fight expected to eclipse the all-time record for PPV sales — Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya registered 2.44 million buys in 2007 — many experts are predicting each fighter could pocket $40 million or more.
It’s hard to get too greedy with that kind of cash staring you in the face.
Also, both fighters apparently will wear 8-ounce gloves, but each fighter will be allowed to select the brand.
As for the marquees, the bout will be referred to as Mayweather-Pacquiao, according to ESPN.com, but Arum’s Top Rank will receive top billing over Golden Boy throughout the promotion.
The only hint of bad news here is the media tour. Apparently, there won’t be one.
Promoters and HBO wanted the fight on May 1, but because Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in the Philippines, that date could have created a conflict between his training and the campaign.
Thus, March 13 was chosen.
But because of the earlier date, promoters felt there wasn’t time to do a full-scale media tour to promote the fight.
This is too bad, because San Antonio might have been included on that tour.
Instead, there will only be a single news conference in New York during the second week of January.
Once Mayweather signs, the only major detail left to be finalized is the site.
The negotiations there could be tougher than they were for the fight itself.
Lesson learned? Maybe Pacquiao was driven to the bargaining table by what happened to Roy Jones Jr.
Wednesday, Jones was knocked out in the first round by Danny Green, sinking Jones’ already-signed and long-awaited rematch with Bernard Hopkins.
Pacquiao, and Mayweather, too, for that matter, had talked of taking an interim fight before facing each other.
source here
Getting Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to agree to fight each other was supposed to be a task bordering on the impossible. Sort of like Democrats and Republicans settling on health care reform.
Or worse.
With the egos involved, conventional wisdom said they’d never agree on the purse. One — or both — would surely demand more than a 50-50 split.
And surely there would be other problems. Such as, which fighter would take top billing?
But sanity apparently won out. And it took only a couple of weeks to happen.
The fight many are calling the richest in decades — and biggest since the classic battles featuring Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler of the 1980s — apparently is on after Pacquiao signed a contract Friday, according to published reports.
Pacquiao and his promoter, Bob Arum, met for two hours over breakfast in Manila on Friday to discuss the fight.
There apparently were some minor adjustments sought by Pacquiao and, once those were made, Pacquiao later in the day inked the deal.
Mayweather previously had agreed to terms with Golden Boy Promotions, his promoter for the HBO Pay-Per-View fight, but it is unknown if he actually has signed a contract.
The bout reportedly will take place at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds for Pacquiao’s WBO title.
Some other interesting details have been revealed. One is a 50-50 split of the money, perhaps the most shocking of all.
But with the fight expected to eclipse the all-time record for PPV sales — Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya registered 2.44 million buys in 2007 — many experts are predicting each fighter could pocket $40 million or more.
It’s hard to get too greedy with that kind of cash staring you in the face.
Also, both fighters apparently will wear 8-ounce gloves, but each fighter will be allowed to select the brand.
As for the marquees, the bout will be referred to as Mayweather-Pacquiao, according to ESPN.com, but Arum’s Top Rank will receive top billing over Golden Boy throughout the promotion.
The only hint of bad news here is the media tour. Apparently, there won’t be one.
Promoters and HBO wanted the fight on May 1, but because Pacquiao is running for a congressional seat in the Philippines, that date could have created a conflict between his training and the campaign.
Thus, March 13 was chosen.
But because of the earlier date, promoters felt there wasn’t time to do a full-scale media tour to promote the fight.
This is too bad, because San Antonio might have been included on that tour.
Instead, there will only be a single news conference in New York during the second week of January.
Once Mayweather signs, the only major detail left to be finalized is the site.
The negotiations there could be tougher than they were for the fight itself.
Lesson learned? Maybe Pacquiao was driven to the bargaining table by what happened to Roy Jones Jr.
Wednesday, Jones was knocked out in the first round by Danny Green, sinking Jones’ already-signed and long-awaited rematch with Bernard Hopkins.
Pacquiao, and Mayweather, too, for that matter, had talked of taking an interim fight before facing each other.
source here
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