Aquino: Let this fight be Pacquiao’s crowning glory
‘Everything figured out’
But Roach said: “We have everything figured out. Whatever Floyd brings to the table, we’re ready for it and we have planned for it.”
Floyd Mayweather Sr., however, said he was confident of his son’s victory.
“I won’t be surprised if my son moves forward and backs Pacquiao up,” he said.
Floyd Sr. will lead Mayweather’s corner because regular trainer Roger Mayweather, the boxer’s uncle, is ill.
Mayweather left the weigh-in still a 2-1 favorite in betting stations, but the reality is it is still a difficult fight to wager on.
Back to boxing’s golden days
Everyone, from entertainment celebrities, star athletes, boxing officials, journalists and merchandise vendors, have weighed in on the fight and their views reflect an almost equally divided body of opinion.
The sport, however, is a sure winner.
The showdown brings boxing back to its golden days, when heavyweight fighters grabbed front-page newspaper headlines with brutal wins and when the stars of the “sweet science” strutted like royalty in the public eye.
Box-office record
While it is difficult to pinpoint the fight’s place in the pantheon of boxing classics, it is very much safe to say Pacquiao-Mayweather will obliterate box-office records with the ferocity of a knockout punch.
The fight is expected to earn $400 million from different revenue-generating platforms.
“The only thing I can say is that in this century, this fight is the biggest fight in the last 15 years,” Arum said.
Pay-per-view buys drive the most income. Standard rates are $90 per buy, with high-definition buys going for $100. The fight is looking at more than 3 million buys.
Other platforms expected to chip in to the cash register are live ticket sales, closed-circuit viewing tickets, sponsorships and foreign television licensing.
With gross revenue expected to reach as high as $400 million, Mayweather can pocket as much as $180 million and Pacquiao $120 million under the 60-40 sharing agreed upon.
Anyone present in the days leading up to the weigh-in, however, would have thought this wasn’t quite the superfight it was billed to be. Both fighters were respectful, sucking the drama out of such prefight events like the press conference, where neither boxer did anything to provoke the other.
And even as a palpable wave of heat settled in the gambling haven of Las Vegas and pushed away the last of the nippy spring air, there were no hot exchanges between both fighters.
The likely outcome?
“Public opinion is definitely Manny Pacquiao,” said Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports books at MGM Resorts International. “Boxing opinion is still Mayweather, most likely by 12-round decision.” With a report from AFP
RELATED VIDEOS
RELATED STORIES
Pacquiao 145, Mayweather 146 at official weigh-in
Pacquiao shrugs off Mayweather’s size advantage
‘Recklessness’ may be key to Pacquiao’s victory
KO awaits Mayweather if he changes style for Pacquiao fight
