MGM Grand set for the grandest fight of all
The much-awaited showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas just a week away.
LAS VEGAS — The MGM Grand Garden Arena has been the stage to the biggest fights in boxing history.
And six days from now, it will serve as the site of the long-awaited megafight between two of the sport’s best gladiators — Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
A fight of this magnitude needs little buildup, but by just walking along the Strip, a 7-kilometer stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, the Mayweather-Pacquiao fever can be definitely felt.
The arena’s facade has been decorated with the fight’s official poster occupying a large portion of the building. Some of the casino’s slot machines also have Mayweather’s and Pacquiao’s images all over them.
READ: IN PHOTOS: MGM Grand a week before Pacquiao-Mayweather bout
Vendors selling Mayweather-Pacquiao shirts for $40 are all over the the famous boulevard.
The mega casino-hotel also has its own shop dedicated for Mayweather-Pacquiao merchandise from shirts, posters, caps, mugs and even flasks. Mayweather’s The Money Team clothing line also has its own separate section inside the store.
People also find pleasure in posing for pictures on Mayweather’s mini exhibit displaying several of his outrageous wardrobes during his previous fights and some of his notable non-boxing related appearances, including a red and black mariachi outfit he wore as a contestant on American dance competition show Dancing with the Stars in 2007.
The other one is a black and white outfit he wore when he went up against professional wrestler Big Show during Wrestlemania 24 in 2008.
The pound-for-pound king, a Grand Rapids, Michigan native, has held most of his fights in Las Vegas, 13 of which were within the walls of the MGM Grand.
BACKSTORY: MGM Grand Garden Arena: The witness
Mayweather has fought his biggest bouts at the arena, including his fight with six-division world champion Oscar dela Hoya on May 5, 2007. In fact, a giant Mayweather banner proclaims the MGM Grand as “home of the champion.”
Like his nemesis, Pacquiao, knows what it’s like fighting at the MGM Grand, which has hosted 11 of the Filipino’s bouts, including his US debut in 2001 when he floored former South African champion Lehlo Ledwaba; his stoppage of Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto; and three of his four meetings with Juan Manuel Marquez.
The biggest fight of them all will happen on Saturday.
