Edwin Espejo
Location: General Santos City, Philippines
Done deal. Yes, the fight will go on.
We got what everybody wished for. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr together atop the ring disputing the mythical pound for pound title in boxing.
It is a fight that will equal, if not surpass, the third Ali-Frazier hoopla. A fight that will generate the same, if not more, interest and excitement as the Leonard-Hearns and the Tyson-Holyfield encounters - all of them record breaking fights in their respective eras.
Manny and Floyd will finally get into the center of the biggest fights of their careers with potentially the biggest money to boot.
Only five years ago, nobody would ever think this fight could happen, much more actually done.
Only five years ago, these two fighters were separated by 10 pounds and were fighting different class of fighters. Most of them top of the line.
Yet both were destined to meet each other at one point.
Today, they will fight at a weight they are comfortable with nobody complaining or claiming advantage over the other.
They will fight at an even purse and nobody will say it is a highway stickup.
But this could well be the last of the super fights to come our way. In the next decade at least.
For one, this mega fight will allow each boxer to pick up their retirement checks without ever worrying when the next dinner tab will come.
For Manny, he will collect at least Php1.5 billion (US$31 million) for this fight excluding collateral income such as cut in the live gate receipts and merchandise.
The last time Manny’s fight was aired on Solar Sports, he reportedly earned a cool Php80 million for the cable and TV rights alone.
If the pay per view sales of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight zooms past the 2.5 million mark, each fighter’s take of the pie could go as high as US$37.5 million, enough to buy your peace for a lifetime in the Bahamas and more.
But there is more than meets the eye in this Mayweather fight.
This could be Manny’s farewell bout.
And the only way Manny will ever box again is if he losses his bid to become a member of Philippine Congress in 2010.
That is precisely one of the reasons why Manny opted to settle for a March 13 date with Mayweather.
Even during his absence while in training, he will generate unprecedented publicity and interests and a convincing win over the former American pound for pound king will solidify his bid to become a congressman.
A loss to Mayweather will not at all diminish his stature as the most recognizable person in his country.
If he wins in the Congressional elections, then we would have seen the last of Manny as far as boxing is concerned.
If he loses his congressional bid, we might see Manny again atop the ring.
So here we are. We got what we wished for. But that could be the end of it all.
Source: asiancorrespondent.com
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