MANNY-MAYWEATHER CONFIRMED 5/2/15
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RiGGA
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Mayweather made the announcement on Friday afternoon on a social media platform called Shots, of which he is an investor.
"I am glad my decision to meet with Manny and discuss making this fight happen helped get the deal done," Mayweather said, referring to a chance Jan. 27 meeting with Pacquiao at a Miami Heat game followed by a private discussion after the game.
"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.
"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. 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."
Many involved expected the announcement to come on Thursday but Mayweather was upset because Top Rank, Pacquiao's promoter, was leaking word of the impending announcement and Mayweather wanted it to be a surprise.
According those familiar with the agreement, the contract Mayweather signed for the fight gave him the right to be the one to announce the fight, even though he was obligated to notify Top Rank of when he would do it.
On Friday afternoon, Top Rank was notified and Mayweather made the announcement about an hour later.
"I am very happy that Floyd Mayweather and I can give the fans the fight they have wanted for so many years," Pacquiao said. "They have waited long enough and they deserve it. It is an honor to be part of this historic event. I dedicate this fight to all the fans who willed this fight to happen and, as always, to bring glory to the Philippines and my fellow Filipinos around the world."
Although he announced it on Friday the deal had been done for a couple of days with both sides having signed the paperwork. Contracts were also signed by broadcasters HBO and Showtime, who will team for a historic joint pay-per-view.
"It's hasn't been easy," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. "But I think in some strange way the inability to get the fight done before now enhances its value and this is one event that the public all over the world has been talking about and discussing for years. The interest in the fight will be absolutely red hot. I've been promoting boxing for nearly 50 years and there is nothing that has come close to this because there has been nothing that has been so difficult to come to fruition. As interest is concerned, this akin to the first (Muhammad) Ali-(Joe) Frazier fight.
"You have to be grateful that this is finally happening. You can't bemoan the false starts and the inability to do this before. It's here now."
In addition to the future Hall of Famers finally hammering out a deal for their welterweight title unification bout -- one that will see Mayweather receive the lion's share of a 60-40 money split in a fight that could gross around $400 million -- rival premium cable networks Showtime, which has Mayweather under contract, and HBO, which has a deal with Pacquiao, went through a brutal negotiation and will come together to produce and distribute a joint pay-per-view telecast, which is expected to cost a record-high $89.95 (and probably $10 more for high definition).
The fight is expected to shatter every revenue record in boxing history, including the pay-per-view buy record of 2.4 million generated by Mayweather's 2007 junior middleweight championship fight against Oscar De La Hoya; the all-time pay-per-view revenue record of $150 million generated by Mayweather's 2013 junior middleweight championship fight against Canelo Alvarez; and the all-time gate record of $20,003,150.
"Everyone involved, including Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, knows this fight simply had to happen," said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports. "All of us are thrilled to be able to deliver this event to boxing fans around the world. Now, for the second time under his current deal with Showtime Networks, Floyd Mayweather has agreed to fight an opponent that many people thought he'd never face. We set an all-time pay-per-view record with the first event back in September 2013 (with Canelo Alvarez) and we look forward to another record-breaking performance on May 2."
Said HBO Sports president Ken Hershman, "Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have been the two most prominent fighters in the sport of boxing for the past decade, and fight fans around the world have been clamoring for them to face each other.
And now, on May 2nd, in what everyone believes will be the biggest boxing event of all-time, fight fans have been granted their wish. May 2nd will be a signature moment for the sport of boxing and HBO Sports is thrilled to be a part of this spectacular event. I know the fighters and their teams will be primed to excel and we plan to work closely with everyone involved to deliver the same level of performance from a broadcast perspective."
It is only the second time Showtime and HBO have made such a deal. The first time was for the highly anticipated 2002 fight between then-heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who was with HBO, and former champion Mike Tyson, who was with Showtime. -
Man i want to be in Vegas that weekend
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now we wait
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2 letters YM
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Tickets sold out quick too, I'm ordering that ? , Bout Damn Time!
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Where them ? that said Floyd was scared of him?
PayPal $50 bet? -
south4life wrote: »Tickets sold out quick too, I'm ordering that ? , Bout Damn Time!
I wonder what was the nosebleed price lol -
silverfoxx wrote: »south4life wrote: »Tickets sold out quick too, I'm ordering that ? , Bout Damn Time!
I wonder what was the nosebleed price lol
3500 large ones..
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shoulda been 3-4 years ago but this gonna be a hood holiday
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Where them ? that said Floyd was scared of him?
PayPal $50 bet?
6 years later?
He didn't want that before. What changed? Arum still in the mix among other silly things from before. -
Come on bruh....can we please stop acting like Mayweather somehow knows how to make time stop.
Yes it's 5 years later. But HE is 5 years older just like Manny is. Time works the same for everybody on Earth bruh. Floyd wasn't hiding in a time machine this whole time.
HOWEVER...manny is was smaller than he was a few year ago and has less knockouts...Floyd was smart to fight him when he got off the PEDs -_- -
hopin floyd get rocked
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You know The MGM gonna be packed with celebrities and mob members, with the prices for those seats being high as hell and everything being sold out the same night it was announced, they are the only ones to afford that. I wonder what the undercard gonna be.
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this ? really happening huh? wow
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Boxing is officially back!
Nd come May 3rd a spectacular undefeated streak will have come to an end like the undertaker wrestlemania streak did. Pac finna Brock leaner that boy. -
Lesner up there^
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I am so happy been waiting for this for so long, shame it wasn't years back tho.
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its gonna be alot of broke ? in vegas the day after.
im bout to open me a ? shop out there -
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Only way Pac Man winning is with a KO. Maywether gonna get it
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Only way Pac Man winning is with a KO. Maywether gonna get it
Pac boxing style wins over the judges more than Floyds, as long as Pac isn't gettin countered and tagged all night the score should be pretty close if comes to a decision...
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may gonna make him look clumsy
pacs lean in punch style leave him open to a check hook all night.
what keeps him up is his landed punches.
and his footwork is dog ?
