Manny Pacquiao fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr likely to be most lucrative in history

The super-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr has the feel of an event on the scale of Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier or, in terms of boxing styles, Sugar Ray Leonard v Marvin Hagler.

The event, which is scheduled for March 13 next year in Las Vegas or Dallas, will also be the most important boxing event for 25 years.

The super-fight would almost certainly break the existing record of 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, which is held by Mayweather for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.

That match, between Mayweather, then the pound-for-pound king, and De La Hoya, the sport’s most popular fighter, eclipsed the buy mark of 1.99 million, set by the 1997 Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson heavyweight championship ‘ear-bite’ rematch, and the revenue record of $112 million, set by the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Tyson heavyweight title fight.

Mayweather against De La Hoya made $120 million in pay-per-view revenue. Overall, with gate receipts, Pacquiao-Mayweather could creep up to the $200 million mark.

Promoter Bob Arum, of Top Rank, left Manila on Sunday, after a three-day visit in which he relayed an offer from Mayweather. Both fighters are guaranteed $25 million, before their shares in pay per view revenue.

The fight could easily gross $100 million which, if it catches fire in the mainstream, could rise to $150 million. Arum insists the boxers’ signatures “are a formality”, but it is not so. The venue is yet to be decided, but at least the weight is set at 147lb, and at welterweight, that suits Mayweather.

The fight pitches Pacquiao, boxing’s star of the moment, against Mayweather, the bad boy unbeaten incumbent, who has permitted the rise of Pacquiao into the same stratosphere after a 21-month absence from prize fighting.

Under trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao has progressed from brawler to fighting machine. Pacquiao has gone from a world champion at 112lb to beating the best at 147lb, maintaining his speed and power.

Mayweather, who at 32 is two years older than Pacquiao, is still unbeaten, and is the most gifted fighter of this generation, but the templates are also set. In one corner, the cocky, brash bad boy, played by Mayweather, opposite the humble man from the shanty town in the Philippines in Pacquiao.

It is on a par with the biggest fights in history – an unbeaten future Hall of Famer, who is in the line of accession of the great slick American boxers, following Sugar Ray Leonard and Pernell Whitaker, against a Filipino idol with poiltical ambitions. Pacquiao’s rags to riches tale could even elevate him from pauper to the President of a nation. It was the fight of a generation. And it had to be made.

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Pacquiao vs Mayweather: Passion meets Ego

The state of boxing is currently at an all-time high. Despite the several bad decisions we’ve seen in the sport recently, few things have been able to slow the budding momentum of the sport, as evidenced by the highly anticipated Mayweather/Pacquiao showdown.

The huge intrigue behind this fight speaks volumes about not only the fan passion for the sport, but also the greatness of the two men involved, as American Floyd Mayweather jr. and Filipino Manny Pacquiao are clearly a cut above any other talents found in todays era – (or any other recent era) – of the sport.

Although fans on both sides of the fence feel a need to stay loyal in supporting their man, there’s no question, this is a pick ‘em fight where either man could walk out victorious by the end of the night, as both men are known for doing whatever legally possible to end the fight with a “W”.

PACQUIAO’S PASSION FOR COUNTRY

Many people recently found comical relief in the outburst of tears that Mexican heavyweight contender Chris Arreola displayed in his lost against Vitali Klitschko. The heavyweight contender was called everything from a cry baby, to a kid, to a sore loser, and worst.

Of all the comments mentioned about his weak moment, few stopped to realize that in his last professional loss a few years back to Mexican Erik Morales, we saw a very similar outburst from Filipino Manny Pacquiao, (sans the profanity), who was also completely destroyed when falling short against the better man that night.

As I think back to that night, seeing the toughest little-big man I know crying his eyes out in the ring helped me and others comprehend precisely how important it is for Pacquiao to remain on top and bring home the win for his countrymen.

The N.B.A. has Michael Jordan. Professional Golf has Tiger Woods. Both men are great, but they represent a sport in a country. Manny Pacquiao represents THEE COUNTRY, and as a walking ambassador with iconic status, clearly, a loss for him would be deemed a loss for the nation, as viewed by those of his humble homeland.

That being said, the man he’ll stand across from could care less, as his ego gives him just as much pride in being the best.

MAYWEATHER’S QUEST FOR GREATNESS

From childhood, we’re all taught to humble ourselves and yeild to the hunger of ego. That theory may be great in a corporate world, or everyday life, but as it relates to the ring, there’s no more valuable tool for greatness, as the ego of fighters like Floyd Mayweather jr. is what literally lights their fire.

An ego for greatness is what propelled a 44 year old Bernard Hopkins to defy the odds after losing to Joe Calzaghe and destroy the career of a still-in-his-prime Kelly Pavlik. An ego for greatness is what propelled an old lion like Shane Mosley to defeat a very durable Mexican warrior like Antonio Margarito when no one else could. An ego for greatness is what compelled a smaller Manny Pacquiao to sit on the ropes and take devastating body shots from the powerful Miguel Cotto while subsequently taking his heart and his will.

Some find ego to be a self-fulfilling effort, and perhaps they’re rights, as few other things can lead the blind to see monumental greatness within themselves.

ONE NIGHT TO FIND OUT

The passion of both men is what will make this fight historical. There may be many other great fights before and after this showdown, but none to match the buildup of this epic showdown.

Two Legends – One Night – No Excuses …… is a perfect tagline when you pair “The Undefeated versus The Undisputed”.

March 13th will finally settle the score!

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Manny Pacquiao’s one advantage Floyd Mayweather can’t counter

When Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. meet next March, they will be fairly evenly matched in most aspects of boxing. Sure both have their strengths and weaknesses, but on paper they will be a close match.

The one thing that only one of them has however is Freddie Roach, widely regarded as the best trainer in the world at the moment. His game plans have turned what would have been difficult fights for Pacquiao into quick victories.

Roach was successful long before he ever met Manny Pacquiao though, he has racked up 20 world champions under his tutelage as well as moving into the world of mixed martial arts and training several fighters there also. Everyone from former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski to up and coming British Welterweight talent Amir Khan have come to Roach in the past to improve various aspects of their boxing, and he rarely disappoints.

Arguably Roach is also the trainer who has come closest to beating Floyd Mayweather so far, having trained Oscar De La Hoya in his split decision loss against ‘Money’ in 2007. Following a similar game plan as De La Hoya alone Pacquiao has an excellent chance of being the first man to beat Mayweather Jr. although Roach will likely come up with an even better one this time around.

Manny also relies on Roach and his training during fights more than Mayweather does with his trainers, following game plans to the letter and trusting that Roach knows better than he does. Many boxers, Mayweather included, prefer to test things out for themselves, and will often deviate from tactics that they don’t like, even if their trainers are disagreeing.

Mayweather vs Pacquiao BoxingOn the other side of the ring Floyd Mayweather Jr. will probably have either his father or uncle. The reason for the uncertainty is due to his uncle having pending charges against him at the moment, although he will probably still be the trainer come March.

Roger Mayweather is undoubtedly a good trainer, although his nephew is the kind of fighter who likely trains himself for the most part. One of the biggest strengths of Floyd Jr. is that he has great ring awareness, and will often change tactics on the fly during a round, where most other boxers would have to wait and be told what to do by their corners at the end. The fact that Pacquiao is this type of boxer could well mean that if Floyd adapts after each round, Pacquiao will struggle to counteract him. Of course coming up with different game plans for each round is far from easy, particularly against someone like Pacquiao who has so few holes in his game.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. is not the same as Roach in the coaching department, witnessed from the Ricky Hatton debacle. Hatton was left without much of a hope after Sr. failed to plug a huge hole in his defense, and Hatton himself said that he had no idea what to do after the complicated plan that Mayweather had told him wasn’t working out.

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Pacquiao beating Floyd is Arum’s birthday wish

Top Rank big boss Bob Arum has only one wish when he celebrates his 78th birthday on Dec. 8 and that is for Manny Pacquiao to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. when the two collide in next year’s mega-buck showdown.

“I hope this fight will be a great fight and I hope that it ends with the referee counting 10 over Mr. Mayweather,” he said.

Both fighters have yet to sign the deal as Arum is set to prepare the contract that Pacquiao and Mayweather will be signing before the first scheduled press conference on Jan. 11 next year.

Arum said the Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown, set on March 13, is the biggest fight that he would promote in his four decades in the business. It can even be compared to some of the greatest fights that took place in the past, he said.

“For our time it’s the biggest fight people have been talking about, Manny vs Mayweather. It has great deal of anticipation and it reminds me of when (Sugar Ray) Leonard first fought (Thomas) Hearns for the first time or when (Muhammad) Ali fought (Joe) Frazier. It has that type of feeling.”

Though both fighters can expect a hefty paycheck once they seal the deal, Arum said the seven-division champ Pacquiao has a higher goal when he decided to fight Mayweather.

“Is this fight all about money for Pacquiao? Naturally for professional boxing its just that were boxers want to be compensated,” said Arum, who felt finally relieved after finally convincing Pacquiao to accept what boxing observers call the “Fight of the Millennium.”

“But for Manny this fight is even more. This fight will eliminate any doubt on who the best pound-for-pound fighter is,” added Arum, who said that Pacquiao has long wanted to face the still undefeated and former P4P title holder Mayweather.

Arum said he did not have a hard time convincing both fighters to accept the deal.

“I knew last time I took him to see the Cotto-Clottey fight, he (Pacquiao) said he wanted to fight Cotto. But I knew before, that he wanted to fight Mayweather.” “It was my job to get everything cleared out of the way. So it was done in the best possible terms.” Arum said that Pacquiao is expected to collect $40 million or close to P2 billion.

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FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR.: “I REALLY DON’T THINK PACQUIAO WANTED TO FIGHT LIL FLOYD”

“Lil Floyd been agreed to the terms, then Freddie Roach starting backtracking. First he said it was all on Lil Floyd and they were ready to go and this and that, and then he changed it to Manny got a busted eardrum, March is too soon and all that shit. Man, get the fuck out of here. How long of a training camp do they need? Shit, it’s not until March. But Bob Arum wanted that fight to happen and that’s why it got done. I really don’t think Pacquiao wanted to fight Lil Floyd. He knows what he’s up against… Lil Floyd hasn’t taken any damage in the fight game and Pacquiao knows he is fighting a different animal man; ain’t going to take no damage,” stated Floyd Mayweather Sr. as he talked about the highly-anticipated clash between his undefeated son and Manny Pacquiao. You don’t want to miss what he had to say about the negotiations, the venue, the fight itself, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins and much more.

PC: How are you doing Big Floyd?

FM: Everything is good man. I’m just pushing along man.

PC: Before we talk about Pacquiao, I wanted to get your take on Roy Jones. You have been telling me for a long time that he should retire before he gets hurt. I’m sure you feel strongly about that even moreso now?

FM: Yeah man. It’s over for him. I didn’t get a chance to watch the fight, but I heard it was over with quick. He lucky he didn’t fight one of those Klitschko boys. They would have comatosed his ass. It ain’t nothing left for him to do but get hurt man. Tarver shook him up and Glen Johnson ruined him for life.

PC: Why is it that fighters have such a hard time walking away from the fight game? Is it because he’s just been great for so long; not just Roy, but in general?

FM: Oh yeah, man, it’s hard to walk away because you still feel like you can fight. It was tough for me to walk away after I got shot. I saw Sugar Ray Leonard and told him to come to the gym anytime and I will whoop him. I told him that in front of Oscar. I had him in a life and death fight with one hand. It’s hard to leave the fight game man; yes sir. See, Bernard just want to make that money.

PC: You’re referring to him still wanting to fight Roy?

FM: Oh yeah man. Bernard wants to make that money and erase that loss from his record, but Roy is through man. They not going to get nobody to pick that fight up. ESPN wouldn’t even broadcast that shit.

PC: Did you get to see Hopkins’ performance?

FM: Nah man. I didn’t watch it, but I heard he didn’t look that good.

PC: He was hit a lot more than we’re accustomed to seeing him hit.

FM: That dude was touching Bernard?

PC: He got hit with some overhand rights, but Bernard’s size and experience came through in about the 5th or 6th round.

FM: Yeah, a lot of people told me they weren’t that impressed with the way he fought.

PC: Big business going on with your son. It seems they have both agreed to fight one another.

FM: Yeah man. Lil Floyd been agreed to the terms, then Freddie Roach starting backtracking. First he said it was all on Lil Floyd and they were ready to go and this and that, and then he changed it to Manny got a busted eardrum, March is too soon and all that shit. Man, get the fuck out of here. How long of a training camp do they need? Shit, it’s not until March. But Bob Arum wanted that fight to happen and that’s why it got done. I really don’t think Pacquiao wanted to fight Lil Floyd. He knows what he’s up against.

PC: Have you talked to Floyd and how does he feel about the fight?

FM: He’s ready to go man. Let me tell you something man, I see people saying if Zab Judah gave Lil Floyd problems, so can Pacquiao. Man, winning 3 rounds in a 12-round fight is not giving somebody problems man. Once Lil Floyd figured Zab out, he tore his ass up and Zab knew what was about to happen; that’s why he hit him with that low shot. But I’m going to tell you something man, with Pacquiao, it’s not even going to be a figuring him out process. Pacquiao is terrible man. The man don’t move his damn head, he jumps straight in…hey man, you gonna see. You gonna see.

PC: For the record, you did pick De La Hoya, Hatton, of course because you were training him, and Cotto to beat Pacquiao.

FM: Hey man, let me tell you something, I don’t know why in the hell De La Hoya chose to fight that man at 147. That was just crazy man. Ricky Hatton gave me one round to give him advice and what did I tell him? I told him keep his damn hands up, move his head and go in behind his jab. He didn’t do nothing I said. A trainer can only give instructions man. Hatton was scared of Pacquiao though man. And Cotto was done after the Margarito fight man. Let me hit you upside your head with some damn bricks and see if you fight the same (laughing). Lil Floyd hasn’t taken any damage in the fight game and Pacquiao knows he is fighting a different animal man; ain’t going to take no damage.

PC: Pacquiao and his wife were on a Filipino radio station and they basically said you are giving Pacman motivation to beat Lil Floyd with the accusations that you made regarding Pacquiao being on steroids.

FM: (Laughing) They can have all of the motivation they want, that’s not going to mean shit on fight night. Pacquiao could never beat something that came out of me (laughing). I can say whatever the fuck I want to say about him; that’s my opinion. I get shit said about me all of the time that isn’t true. Come on man.

PC: The venues are looking like New Orleans, Dallas or Vegas are the frontrunners. I would be very shocked to see Vegas let this one get away, would you?

FM: Oh yeah man. I would be real surprised if Bob Arum let this fight not take place here [Las Vegas]. This is where the money is at and I don’t see this fight going somewhere else man. But that man that owns the Cowboys [Jerry Jones] has a shit load of money, so we will see.

PC: I spoke to WBO President Francisco Valcarcel and he said it has a lot to do with what weight they will fight at to pick a favorite. He feels if they fight at 144 or 145, that will favor Pacquiao and at 147, it will favor Mayweather.

FM: I tell you this right now, Lil Floyd ain’t giving up a pound man. He’s not supposed to. If this is a fight for the welterweight title, Lil Floyd can weigh anything from 141 to 147 period. And if Pacquiao was talking about moving to 154 to fight somebody, he can fight Floyd there. But Lil Floyd ain’t giving up a pound; fuck that catch-weight shit.

PC: Valcarcel also compared Pacquiao to Sugar Ray Robinson and I’m sure you have a strong opinion about that.

FM: Man, what the fuck people is looking at man? You can’t even put him in the same sentence as Robinson, Ali and all of those greats man. Pacquiao done pulled the wool over people’s eyes man. Pacquiao is a strong fighter man, but you can’t compare him to Ray Robinson. Ray Robinson has more knockouts than Pacquiao has fights; 3 times the knockouts.

PC: I won’t hold you too much longer my man. I always appreciate your time. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

FM: It’s all good man; you know we talk like this. I hadn’t talked to you for awhile. I hope the fight gets signed. They have both agreed, but I don’t think any paperwork has been signed yet. But I hope it gets done because the world is going to see. I’m telling you.

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Pacquiao says kids should not emulate Mayweather

For the most part, Manny Pacquiao has been cordial and respectful towards every opponent he has faced inside the boxing throughout his career- outside of course a little bit of exchanged words here and there with Erik Morales back then and when he told Juan Manuel Marquez to “stop crying man” when the Mexican legend kept on nagging him for a third fight after he dropped a close decision in their rematch as if he was Pacquiao’s baby momma asking for child support.

His fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. though would be different. Mayweather together with his father Floyd Sr. have been bashing the Filipino boxing star since his ascension as the sport’s best pound for pound fighter after Mayweather retired.

Among the insults the Mayweathers have hurled at Pacquiao were claims saying Pacquiao is one-dimensional, that he has little skills, that he has no defense, that Ricky Hatton would knock him out etc. etc. And when the insults pertaining to his skills inside the ring were proven wrong, the Mayweathers conjured up perhaps the most damaging accusation of all when they said that Pacquiao was on some type of steroids despite not having any proof or evidence other than seeing his body and power come with him in the higher weights.

Pacquiao admitted recently that he is a little bit annoyed by the Mayweathers’ antics and was quoted in an article by his network GMA saying, “The difference between Floyd with the other fighters I went up against is that he talks a lot of trash which should not be emulated by kids,” (translated from: “Pagkakaiba ni Floyd Mayweather sa ibang nakalaban ko is si Floyd, marami siyang thrash talk na di dapat gayahin ng mga bata,”).

And in one of my recent articles, I also pointed out how Pacquiao has issued Floyd Sr. a warning that he has some extra ill-feelings towards his son and that he would bring it in the ring when they do indeed face off. Something tells me this will just get worse before it gets any better.

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The Showdown: The Impact of Mayweather vs Pacquiao

Ladies and Gentleman, we’re back with the latest edition of “The Showdown”. The column has been away for the past few weeks as I’ve been recapping some classic bouts for our “From the Vault” column but I’m back this week discussing the possible Mayweather/Pacquiao fight. As many of you are aware by now, the fight is inching closer and closer towards reality as Floyd Mayweather has reportedly agreed to terms and conditions to make this fight happen. Now I won’t be going into who think will win the fight as readers to this column are aware that I have previously discussed my opinion of such a fight and who I felt would win (Mayweather, although that opinion has grown shaky since Pacquiao/Cotto). Instead, I’ll be discussing a few aspects of the potential fight which has been discussed in the past several weeks, most notably the possibly venue of such a fight and the impact such a fight would have on the sport and society.

First off, the venue of the bout has been one that’s hotly contested. They’re several parties which want the fight and are willing to spend big to get the bout. Some of the venues discussed are several of the Vegas casinos(The MGM being the most viable), the Superdome in New Orleans, and Cowboy Stadium in Dallas.

This is a tricky question because ultimately Las Vegas carries the stronger hand in such discussions. The possible venues in Las Vegas could only sell about 20,000 tickets and many of those tickets will be awarded to loyal Vegas customers, which would drag the possible gate down. However, the amount of money the MGM would be willing to shell out for the bout would be astronomical. They know the amount of money that Vegas stands to lose if this fight takes place outside it’s confines. Fight weekends in Vegas ensure tons of revenue for the city and more importantly the hosting casino. Gambling revenues would be at record levels for this fight as it’s safe to say just about every high roller will be in town and willing to shell out absurd figures within the casino. Don’t get me wrong, a great Vegas fight is something special but 20,000 just doesn’t have the same oomph as say 60,000 or more packed into Cowboy Stadium.

What better way to reassert the sports dominance within mainstream sports, than holding such a mega fight in front such a massive crowd? It would certainly shut those up that have been trying to hail the sport’s demise for the past 10 years. It’s also hard to imagine Dana White could ever run his mouth again about his sport’s superiority over Boxing when you know the UFC could not come close to staging such a spectacle. Maybe, I’m just sentimental to the golden years of Boxing when major card were regularly held at baseball stadiums but the sport needs this type of event to push it back into the forefront of sports. I hope the fight happens in Cowboy Stadium and I think it would be huge for the sport but alas, I’m not getting my hopes up. The promotional companies, behind the possible fight have close ties to Las Vegas and are unlikely to jeopardize that relationship any time soon by spurning the city for such an important fight, expect the fight to happen at the MGM.

With that topic out of the way, the next topic that needs to be discussed is the actual impact of such a fight. I’m not talking about the impact within our sport, all boxing fans understand the importance of the fight but rather I’m talking about the impact the fight would have on society as a whole. There are certain sports events which are capable of transcending the sports world and becoming something legendary. I’m talking about such events as Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals, Ali/Frazier, the Super Bowl, and others. I don’t know if this fight has such an impact but I think it certainly has the potential.

The bout features two fighters who are guaranteed to take their place in the company of legends when they retire but even more importantly for the media, (which will ultimately decide the impact such a fight has on society) it features two individuals who represent very different lifestyles. It’s a great storyline that the media will surely eat up. In one corner, you have the cocky, brash, villain played by Floyd Mayweather who is opposed by the humble, Manny Pacquiao. It’s the type of storyline that the media can run with, much like they did in the 70’s with Ali and Frazier. You see for a sporting event to really transcend into a cultural event their needs to be a story to be told outside of the actual sport, something for the mainstream to connect to and I think this fight possesses such a story.

I can’t totally say if this fight reaches the level of say Ali/Frazier or Louis/Schmelling but at the very least it will certainly be the most important boxing event of the past 25 years. However, as much as I wax poetic about the impact of such a fight, I know for a fact that we all simply want the fight to happen. It’s a fight that the sport needs to complete it’s recent revival. Boxing still has it’s fair share of problems but there is an excitement about this sport that has not been evident for quite some time. Let’s hope for the sake of the sport that egos can be put aside and we can all witness one more classic night of fights.

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