Mayweather has signed the contract; announcement by end of the week?

By Sizzle JKD: Here’s the thing, maybe the third time is the charm. It wasn’t announced during Super Bowl weekend. The NBA All-Star game came and went. But when the sports world is silent…
It’s the perfect time to announce the mega fight between the ultimate warrior Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and television star Floyd “Money” Mayweather because, at this moment, nothing special is going on and there is nothing for the mass media of sports to talk about. Which makes it the prime opportunity for Mayweather, who isn’t shy about telling the world how much he loves the spotlight, to receive the attention he so desperately seeks.

You would think with all the soap opera-like drama Mayweather has created the last couple weeks that he’d be up for best actor at the upcoming Academy Awards.

In an article penned today on ringobserver.com, Mark “Scoop” Malinowski wrote, “The ‘Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Superfight’ was signed today [Wednesday] by both combatants.”

Malinowski says that the insider who advised him of this latest development is a source he trusts, and he believes and that the fight will be announced by Floyd Mayweather Jr. by the end of the weekend, perhaps as soon as Thursday or Friday.

Malinowski stated, “According to my source, sponsorship deals are already being sold. The fight will be announced officially on Thursday or Friday. Pay per view price will be $100. A rematch would be scheduled for November. Major companies are lining up to be a part of the biggest prizefight in boxing history.”

If this indeed is true, then Malinowski’s comment insinuates that the last two remaining issues that caused a delay in the final contract being finalized may have been related to whether or not there would be a rematch and the pay per view price/sponsorship pricing.

There were reports that circulated the internet in recent days suggesting there would be no rematch between the two pugilists. However, I find it very hard to believe that both fighters and both promotional outfits wouldn’t want a rematch, or even a trilogy for that matter, simply because of the huge possibility that two or three fights could potentially bring in over a billion dollars in total revenue. Simply put, it would be absurd to pass on this amount of money.

There were also rumors about the pay per view price ranging between $90-110. If what Malinowski’s insider said is true, then a $100 price tag for the fight seems reasonable enough for an event of this magnitude. It’s not a surprise to see why the determination of the pay per view price perhaps stalled the negotiations because, after all, two different network providers are carrying the event therefore each network’s hand in the pot had to have its fair share. And with the networks typically taking a 10% fee off the top, the estimated profitable gains would have had to be financially feasible for both networks.

At the end of the day, financial forecasting and quantitative analysis kept the attorneys, analysts, promoters, and consultants extremely busy during the back and forth between the two networks the last couple of weeks. At the same time, I’m sure both Top Rank and Al Haymon as well as Showtime and HBO were most likely fielding an insane amount of phone calls from potential sponsors as the bidding war for sponsorship money began as soon as the serious prospects of the super fight started brewing in December and January.

On Tuesday, Pacquiao wrote on his Instagram account, “Off to work now but after few days back to serious training for my upcoming m….fight. Thank you Lord.”

That’s “m….fight” as in Mayweather fight. If Pacquiao meant a fight in May, he would’ve simply written “May.” The fact he chose to leave out the rest of the word strongly implies it’s Mayweather, not Maidana, not Miguel Cotto, not Michael Jackson, but Mayweather.

Those who think Pacquiao won’t have time to train has got it all wrong. Pacquiao is right on schedule for a full 8-10 weeks of training, and I won’t be surprised if the only press conferences that are done for this fight are held in Los Angeles and New York that will cover all but one week. You can forget about a silly 11-city promotional tour because there is no need to promote these two kingpins because their names are already synonymous with greatness.

On May 2nd, Mayweather may finally be yelling “Mayday, mayday,” as he faces his biggest fear – losing that precious “0.” The fight is on. The wait may be over.