The deal, the titles, the undercard and of course, the officials
Thursday 23 April 2015 10:03, UK
Five years of speculation, discussion and disappointment are finally over... Mayweather v Pacquiao is on!
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are the two best-known boxers in the world. We start the countdown to their mega-fight by considering the pair's history and what will happen outside the ring on May 2. From unifications and the undercard to the visual elements and the venue itself, here are the basics you need to know...
The deal has finally been done. It took five years to get this on. An agreement was almost done and dusted in November 2009 until the now-infamous drug testing row derailed it. Mayweather demanded Pacquiao took random blood and urine tests all the way up to fight night and while Freddie Roach had no problem with it, his fighter did. The fight was dead.
No one is 100% certain it happened but in 2010, a time when HBO owned both fighters' rights, a second chance came - and ultimately went. Everyone was talking about the fight: both fighters demanded it after wins; Mayweather offered, according to HBO's At Last documentary, flat rates for the richest fight boxing will ever see.
Two years then passed until the bizarre combination of Roach and a restaurant waiter in Hollywood pulled HBO (Pacquiao) and Showtime (Mayweather) together. In late 2014, the fight, perhaps, was on.
Top Rank's Bob Arum and Pacquiao accepted a 40 per cent cut and then, on January 27 2015, a flight cancellation led Pacquiao to attend a Miami Heat NBA game.
Guess who else was there? Mayweather and Pacquiao met face-to-face for the very first time. They swapped numbers, met in Manny's hotel suite at 1am that night and finally, after five years, the fight was going to happen.
It still took three more weeks for Mayweather to confirm. Then, on February 20, a picture of the signed contract was published on social media. The fight was, at last, on.
We all know the first weekend in May is Mayweather's time. It's also a big date for Mexicans who will soon be celebrating their national holiday Cinco de Mayo – and have often done so in Vegas. In recent years, the first Saturday in May has become a special day for the world's best boxer. It started when Mayweather fought Oscar de la Hoya during the 2007 celebrations - hence the sombrero. He then took on Shane Mosley (2010), Miguel Cotto (2012), Robert Guerrero (2013) and last year (Marcos Maidana).
Pacquiao also took on Mosley in 2011 on the Saturday after Cinco de Mayo and of course, May 2 also received special attention on British shores when the Filipino took on Ricky Hatton at the MGM in 2009.
Only one man has dared to steal the Cinco de Mayo limelight from Mayweather: Mexican's own Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. Already beaten by Floyd in September 2013, his bid to take over the first weekend in May also failed. Canelo's fight with James Kirkland was supposed to take place on May 2. It has of course, been moved forward a week!
Dubai? Macau? AT&T in Dallas? The moon? Neverneverland? We heard all the rumours but realistically we knew where the fight would take place. The MGM Grand Garden Arena remains the No 1 venue in big-time boxing and for now, remains the iconic setting for a once-in-a-generation showdown.
Mayweather and Pacquiao have been crucial to the venue's success. Pacquiao has fought there 11 times and Mayweather has gone one better, but as usual, there something that sets him apart. This will be Mayweather's 11th consecutive MGM fight, something even Oscar de la Hoya can't match.
The 80,000 tickets sold at Wembley Stadium last May for Froch Groves II dwarfs the capacity for Mayweather v Pacquiao but the fight will be no less special. The MGM Grand officially holds just under 17,000 but there will be many more watcing on close-circuit in Vegas, plus millions of pay-per-view customers in the States and all over the world.
The initial talk of a catchweight contest can be dismissed. The fight will take place at welterweight. The age of the fighters might have made 147lbs a bit harder to hit. Some even suggested the issue of weight was a bargaining tool.
But the bottom line is welterweight is where these two belong. Mayweather's last nine world title fights have been as a welterweight while Pacquiao goes one better at 10.
Don't worry about these two hitting the scales to perfection, they are both meticulous. Mayweather has only gone up to super-welterweight twice - against Alvarez in 2013 and Cotto in 2012 - and Pacquiao once, against Joshua Clottey back in 2010.
Mayweather and Pacquiao transcend world titles but there is more than legacy and popularity on the line on May 2. For those that care - and you can include IBF boss Kell Brook in that - there are three world titles on the line. Mayweather has been the WBC holder for seven years and now also has the WBA 'Super' strap to put alongside it, while Pacquiao has the WBO version, a title he lost then regained from Timothy Bradley. This will be his third defence.
This sort of unification fight rarely takes place. Mayweather has been involved in three, twice against Maidana and once against Alvarez, where he snatched the WBA belt away from the Mexican. As for Pacquiao, he has had two fights with multiple titles on the line: against Agapito Sanchez for the IBF and WBO at super-bantamweight and the famous clash with Juan Manuel Marquez for the IBF and WBA featherweight titles. Both of Pacquiao's unification bouts ended in a draw.
It was the one decision most of us expected. Kenny Bayless is an experienced, well-respected big-time referee, so got the nod ahead of the likes of Robert Byrd and Tony Weeks. The Nevada man will turn 65 two days after MayPac and the perfect present also sees him catch-up with two familiar faces. Bayless has refereed Mayweather five times, including his last against Marcos Maidana in September and ironically, his first, a four-rounder way back in October 1996. Bayless has been in with Pacquiao seven times, including his revenge win over Timothy Bradley and wins over Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez. But he was also in charge of the stunning six-round KO of said Mexican. At the MGM Grand.
As for the judges, Dave Moretti and Burt A Clement are both Nevad judges but in recent years they have opened up the state boundaries and brought them in from further afield. This time, Conneticut's Glenn Feldman, who is the least experienced. His last three world title jobs have been out in Germany. Moretti has judged for of the last five Mayweather WBC defences but has not been working on a Pacquiao fight since the third Marquez in 2011. Clement was on Mayweather's rematch win over Maidana but none of Pacquiao's recent top-level tussles.
Big fight undercards are always a bone of contention. Look back down the years and you will do well to recall the chief support, never mind the rest the bill on nights where the top-of-the-bill clash lives long in memory. Who else fought at The Rumble in the Jungle when Muhammad Ali and George Foreman? Who shared the ring before Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield? Britain does a big card well but other than brother Matthew, who else was on the card when Ricky Hatton hit Vegas to face Mayweather and Pacquiao? Or when Joe Calzaghe took apart Roy Jones Jr? Exactly.
The MayPac bill has two world champions on, with one putting his belt on the line before the main event. Leo Santa Cruz, WBC world super-bantamweight champion and potential foe of Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton, goes 10 rounds on the big stage. Then Vasyl Lomachenko puts his WBO world featherweight strap on the line. Lomachenko tried to win that title in only his second pro fight and failed, but he managed it next time out. This will be his second defence.
The usual supposed stumbling block! For years, fights we all want to see have not happened largely due to television. Mayweather is tied up with Showtime and Pacquiao, under the guidance of Arum and Top Rank, is HBO's. Throw Al Haymon and terrestrial TV into the wider debate and it could be suggested that the rival networks reached a point where they knew they must join forces.
Mayweather's rematch with Maidana has been hailed as Showtime's record-breaking PPV show, while two of Pacquiao's last three fights have been in Macau, bringing boxing to the Far East. Stephen Esininoz, the Showtime general manager, says "we can look forward to another record breaker", while HBO president Ken Hershman plans "to work closely to everyone involved".
Both companies are broadcasting preview shows and both have their MC's - Jimmy Lennon Jnr and Michael Buffer - sharing the honours for only the third time in their careers. It will cost $100 to watch in the USA, while less than a month ago, Sky Sports Box Office secured the UK showing, for £19.95, Sky's first Vegas pay-per-view event since Ricky Hatton took on Pacquiao six years ago... on May 2.
Book Mayweather v Pacquiao, Sky Sports Box Office, May 2, via your phone or online now. If you want to record the event, book via your Sky remote from April 25. skysports.com/maypac
