Mayweather, Pacquiao bout shaping as biggest ever

JAMIE PANDARAM
December 9, 2009

FOR the first time this generation, the two best boxers on the planet will collide in a mega-event poised to break all viewing and earning records.

For Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, their March 13 showdown will be about dollars (US$25million [$27m] each guaranteed, with early pay-per-view predictions set to take each fighter above $US40m in total) and status as the best now, and probably the best ever.

It is as much a clash of styles as of profiles: a loud-mouthed, trash talking African-American hip-hop label owner known for betting $US30,000 a day; and a quietly-spoken, highly religious Filipino with political ambition who has reportedly given much of his money to impoverished countrymen.

At odds with their public images, it is Pacquiao who is aggressive and savage in the ring, while Mayweather is a defensive pugilist whose perfect record has been built on counter-punching and untouchable weaving.

Venues are lining up to host the fight, billed "The Superbowl of boxing", with Las Vegas the early favourite over the new 80,000-capacity Dallas Cowboys Stadium and New Orleans' Louisiana Superdome.

Pacquiao has yet to sign a formal contract for the fight but is said to be satisfied with the major points, and he pushed the March 13 date over a May 1 proposal because he intends to run for office in the Philippines.

A media conference will be held in the first fortnight of January to announce full details of the bout.

Not since the glory days of Sugar Ray Leonard's wars with Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran has the world seen the best pound-for-pound boxers in the ring.

More recently, Roy Jones jnr battled Bernard Hopkins but neither was at their peak in 1993, and managed to avoid a rematch while in their prime due to monetary squabbles.

Major names have captivated the boxing world, including Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Oscar De La Hoya. While they took on their best in their classes, they never came across a pound-for-pound great at their best.

De La Hoya came closest against Shane Mosley and Hopkins.

Never have two fighters like Mayweather and Pacquiao been so far superior to all other combatants in the game, and in roughly the same weight division, and agreed to terms.

It is as good as being able to play with a time machine to match Tyson against Muhammad Ali, Robinson against De La Hoya, Jones jnr against Hopkins pre-2003.

After the expected haggling, both fighters agreed to split the money 50-50, an unusual, incredible occurrence for any fight, let alone one of such magnitude. Both wanted a 60-40 split in their favour but in the end, taking a 10 per cent cut was still far too profitable than walking away from the table.

Mayweather will fight for Pacquaio's WBO welterweight title, which the Pacman won via a brutal beating of Miguel Cotto last month.

Pacquiao, 50-3 with 38 knockouts, has retired De La Hoya, probably retired Ricky Hatton with a two-round slaughter, and forced Cotto to concede he should retire at the end of next year. He assumed the throne of world's best when Mayweather retired last year, but the man nicknamed "Money" – his own creation – returned in fine form by defeating Juan Manuel Marquez in a classic exhibition of hurricane hand-speed.

Pacquiao is the only man in fight history to claim world titles over seven weight divisions. Mayweather has collected world titles in five.

Tickets for the events are estimated to cost between $US500 to $US2500 for a ringside seat, the most expensive for any fight, surpassing $US2400 for Tyson's 2002 clash with Lewis.

It is the pay-per-view subscriptions that will define the success of the bout, however, with analysts predicting it will be the most successful ever, overtaking Mayweather's contest against De La Hoya in 2007 of 2.4 million household purchases.

Greed and politics have long purged boxing, but for the first time in a very long time, all the major parties have done what is right for the sport and it's fans – even if they weren't thinking beyond their own bank accounts.

Source: smh.com.au