By Chris Williams: Moments ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) made an official announcement that the contracts are signed for his mega-fight against Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd. This will likely be the richest fight in boxing history by a significant margin. Mayweather said that he’s doing it for the fans in giving them the fight they all wanted to see.
Mayweather says Pacquiao will be victory No.48 on his resume, and he doesn’t see the 36-year-old Filipino fighter as anything other than another notch on his belt in the win column.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight could eclipse the 2.4 million pay-per-view record set by none other than Mayweather himself in his fight against Oscar De La Hoya. The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight could hit over 3 million PPV buys depending on the price tag for the fight. Obviously, if they get too greedy, they’re going to turn away boxing fans. It’s a delicate balance.
Mayweather kept boxing fans waiting with his announcement, and there were more than a few of the fans were extremely skeptical that the bout would get signed for May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. But Mayweather didn’t want to announce the fight until he was 100% satisfied with the contract. The last time he attempted to negotiate with Pacquiao’s team, Mayweather agreed to a 50-50 purse split, as well as a weight penalty.
One can only imagine what this one asked for. Pacquiao has said to have asked for a $1 million fine for any fighter that tests positive for drugs. It would be interesting to know if there are other fines of that kind that were included in the language of the contract. You can say this about the fines and penalties; it’s definitely a way of squeezing out a few more coins for the fight.
“Giving the fans what they want to see is always my main focus. This will be the biggest event in the history of the sport,” Mayweather said via Dan Rafael of ESPN. “Boxing fans and sports fans around the world will witness greatness on May 2. I am the best ever, TBE, and this fight will be another opportunity to showcase my skills and do what I do best, which is win,” Mayweather said.
If Mayweather can whip Pacquiao on May 2nd, he’ll no doubt be adding to his greatness. Unlike a lot of boxing fans, I don’t see a victory over Pacquiao as being the exclamation point to Mayweather’s career. I think Mayweather’s wins over Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did more for his career than a victory over Pacquiao will do. Mayweather fought all of those guys when they were still young and with excellent records. Pacquiao is up there in age at 36, and he’s been arguably beaten four times by Marquez, and we saw him lose to Tim Bradley only three years ago.
“Manny is going to try to do what 47 before him failed to do, but he won’t be successful. He will be number 48,” Mayweather said.
Mayweather has talked about wanting to pick up 50 wins before he retires so he can finish his career with a ring record of 50-0. A win over Pacquiao would leave Mayweather just two short of the mark that he needs to get to 50-0.
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