Pacquiao vs Mayweather mega fight takes place on March 13, 2010.
MANILA, Philippines--In the end, there was enough up-front money to agree to an equal split of the purse.
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and undefeated American star Floyd Mayweather Jr. will get $25 million (P1.15 billion) each from the initial $50 million pot pooled together to get both fighters to agree to what has been billed as potentially the richest fight in boxing history.
“This is going to be an exciting fight,” Pacquiao said on national TV Friday.
He also told Boxing.fanhouse.com that “I want to fight Floyd Mayweather very badly. It’s the fight that everyone wants to see.”
Top Rank chief Bob Arum will fly back to the US today to meet with the Mayweather camp to discuss a few minor details before finalizing the fight contract.
Asked earlier if a contract had been signed, Arum cryptically replied: “You see a smile on my face. I’m not disappointed.”
Pacquiao adviser Mike Koncz likewise did not give any concrete details in an interview with the Associated Press but said that all there is left is a little “fine tuning.”
“Manny has some additional requirements, requests, which Arum didn’t think was a problem,” Koncz said. “The requests of Manny were so realistic that Arum doesn’t feel it’s a problem and it’s pretty much a done deal.”
Pacquiao and Mayweather are scheduled to face off in a highly anticipated March 13 showdown at a still unspecified venue in the US.
Probable hosts
Arum has said the probable hosts have been narrowed to three: the MGM Grand in Las Vegas looms as the top pick with the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and the Superdome in New Orleans as possible choices.
Top Rank plans to send a survey team to Dallas next week to examine the new $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, the person said. Team owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday that the Cowboys “are still desirous of looking at what we can do.”
The formal announcement of the fight could be made coinciding with Arum’s 78th birthday on Tuesday.
The Guardian, quoting several sources, said Pacquiao and Mayweather have agreed to equally share the guaranteed pot while other Internet reports revealed that other kinks have also been ironed out already.
No catch weight
Pacquiao will stake his WBO welterweight crown, which he won from Miguel Cotto via a 12th-round TKO last Nov. 14 to become the first fighter in history to win seven world titles in as many weight classes. This time, though, the bout will have no catch weight.
While Pacquiao fought Cotto at an agreed weight limit of 145 pounds, the bout against Mayweather will be fought at the regular welterweight limit of 147 lb.
Mayweather had initially asked for a junior middleweight limit of 154 lb.
Both fighters will use 8-ounce gloves—the ones Pacquiao prefers—but will be allowed to select the brand they will use.
Arum met with Pacquiao and Koncz on Friday and is scheduled to meet with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer to finalize the contract.
The super bout is expected to shatter several existing box office and revenue records, with the $50 million pot setting the bout in the right direction.
The richest fight ever was the Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya bout, which earned $120 million in pay-per-view sales and $19 million in gate receipts.
“[Pacquiao-Mayweather] will be the biggest fight of all time, financially,” Arum confidently said Friday.
$150-M mark?
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather will get enormous shares of the pay-per-view pie, which experts said could pierce the $150-million mark.
Pacquiao’s fight against Cotto sold 1.25 million pay-per-views, while Mayweather’s comeback victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in September attracted 1.05 million.
Although the Mayweather-Marquez tiff sold for only $49.95 each on PPV, Pacquiao-Cotto fetched $54.95 per PPV sale.
For the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, HBO, which owns PPV rights of the fight, could go as high as $60.
Pacquiao has been on the rise the past couple of years with explosive victories over Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and David Diaz—all via knockout.
Mayweather, on the other hand, hammered out a 12-round decision over Marquez after coming off a 21-month layoff.
With the March 13 playdate biting into the normal promotional time for Top Rank, Golden Boy Promotions and HBO to sell the fight, the battle between the last two occupants of the mythical pound-for-pound throne is expected to sell itself.
“The difference between Floyd and others I have fought is that Floyd makes a lot of trash talk that should not be imitated by young people,” Pacquiao told GMA News.
The public appetite for this fight has already been whetted by Pacquiao’s demolition of Cotto. During the post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, Pacquiao was interrupted by his fans, who kept chanting “we want Floyd!”
Source: Inquirer.net
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