After nearly six years of waiting and anticipating, we will finally see Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (47- 0, 26 KOs) fight Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight was made official on Friday evening when Mayweather posted a picture of the signed contract via Shots.
This is by far and away the biggest fight that can be made in boxing, and this will break records in pay per view buys and revenue generated for a fight. In addition to breaking records for ppv buys,this will be the richest payout to fighters. Mayweather will make an excess of 120 million dollars and Pacquiao will make upwards for 8 million.
Once the fight was announced, word spread like wildfire on social media and hotel prices in Las Vegas skyrocketed.
The fight is being called the Super Bowl of boxing and that statement is justified as we get to see the number one boxer pound for pound in Mayweather, against the number 2 boxer in Pacquiao. Many will say this fight is happening five years too late, but the years of waiting and hoping for this fight to happen, may make it a bigger event than it would have had they fought earlier.
Stylistically, these two men styles are made for one another. Mayweather is one of the greatest defensive fighters in the history of boxing and based on punch stats he is the most accurate puncher since this stat has been tracked. Pacquiao is an aggressive brawler that likes to throw a flurry of combinations. Now we get to finally find out which fighter is the best of this era.
Despite being 38 years old on fight night and almost a full two years older than Pacquiao, Mayweather is just under a 3 to 1 favorite to win and stay unbeaten. However, Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach are confident that they can put the first blemish on Mayweather’s record.
Whether you plan to go to Vegas to watch the fight, or watch on pay per view, which will cost around $100, this is a must see event. May 2nd was already going to be a great day in sports with the Kentucky Derby and the NBA playoffs. Now, those two events will pale in comparison to the Fight Of This Century.