Punchlines aplenty
Late-night comedians were trying to outdo each other Monday night.
The aim was to score the best punchline from the disappointing bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Even Jimmy Kimmel, who walked his buddy Pacquiao to the ring, can’t help but crack a joke about the fight—boxing’s most lucrative ever that was less than exciting to fans last Sunday.
Mimicking pop star Justin Bieber, a known Mayweather supporter, Kimmel wore a hat and gold chains around his neck as honorary member of Pacquiao’s entourage. He said it “must be weird for Filipinos to see their congressman fight on TV.
“I wish our congressmen would do that. I’d pay $100 just to see [US House Speaker] John Boehner without a shirt,” said Pacquiao’s favorite talk-show host.
Jimmy Fallon said the match won unanimously by Mayweather, known as Money, sucked.
“Fans were hoping for the Fight of the Century but got something less dramatic than a fight on the Real Housewives,” Fallon jested.
“The fight had so much clinching,” said Seth Myers. “If those guys had been hugged that much as children, they wouldn’t have grown up to be boxers.”
“I caught up on some sleep by watching the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight,” clowned Conan O’Brien. “Back home … Pacquiao is a congressman, which may explain why he didn’t do much of anything the other night.”
The gag lines would have been different if the jokesters knew a class-action suit had been filed against Pacquiao and company by two Nevada residents.
The suit, filed in a US District Court in Vegas, has since been followed by five more class-action suits. It claims that Pacquiao lied to fans and gamblers alike for not disclosing he was nursing a bum shoulder during the match.
Seeking millions in damages, the suit represents all ticket and pay-per-view buyers and bettors who the plaintiffs said were cheated because it turned out they may have watched and even wagered on an unfair fight.
Named respondents were Pacquiao, fight promoter Bob Arum, Top Rank president Todd Duboef and Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz.
The injury, a torn rotator cuff reportedly reinjured during training camp, was disclosed by Pacquiao at the postfight press conference.
The 36-year-old fighter, who stands to earn at least $120 million from his loss to Mayweather, is now resting in Los Angeles after surgery on his injury.
Pacquiao has remained tight-lipped about the class-action suits.
However, his attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said the lawsuit filed in Nevada is “completely frivolous.”
“Nothing was concealed, and I expect it to be dismissed in due course,” Petrocelli added.
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Retired editor Mike Genovea, now California-based, is ever the scribe. Genovea, a former president of the Philippine Sportswriters Association, said the Pac-May fight dominated a “sportstacular Saturday.”
He reported on Facebook that on the same day of the fight, “American Pharaoh (the favorite) won the 141st Run for the Roses (Kentucky Derby); the Los Angeles Clippers booted out the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the NBA (Western Conference) quarterfinals (4-3); … and Rory McIlroy retained his top spot in golf with a victory in the WGC Cadillac Match Play championship.
