LAS VEGAS — The first time Floyd Mayweather ventured to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, he was 17 years old and had traveled from Grand Rapids, Mich., to watch the second fight between Julio Cesar Chavez and Frankie Randall. It was 1994.
“I was flying first class and stayed in a nice hotel,” Mayweather recalled. “I couldn’t believe it. But I was very, very thankful.”
He was very inspired, too, dreaming that one day soon sold-out crowds would come to see him perform. Two decades later, he has exceeded those dreams and become the highest-paid athlete in sports, the pound-for-pound king of boxing and an unprecedented pay-per-view attraction.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum once said Floyd Mayweather couldn’t sell tickets. Now he sells out weigh-ins. When all the receipts are counted, Mayweather expects to make $200 million for facing Manny Pacquiao Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden for the welterweight championship. Another $150,000 went to charity for the $10 tickets for Friday’s electric weigh-in.
“It’s an unbelievable turnout,” said Mayweather, who weighed-in at 146 pounds to Pacquiao’s 145. “I’m glad the fans came out to support me and to support Manny. Now it’s up to us to see who’s best.”
Yes, it’s up to Mayweather and Pacquiao to be warriors, not just businessmen. The build-up of this fight, the long five-year wait, demands the two fighters perform the way Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns did. The way Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield did. The way Bernard Hopkins did against Felix Trinidad. Skill versus skill. Heart versus heart.
The pick here is Mayweather by late stoppage. But there’s no reason it can’t be competitive. Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) has proven himself to be a true warrior, a champion in eight different weight classes; a man who actually enjoys fighting. He was all smiles during Friday’s weigh-in, raising his hands in triumph and displaying his WBO championship belt. This is his party, too.
“I believe this fight had to happen because the fans deserve it,” he said.
His eagerness to deliver a good fight for his fans will be his undoing. He’ll try to force the action and leave himself open to Mayweather’s precise counter-punching. It will come to a point late in the fight when Pacquiao has endured enough from the bigger and faster champion. Referee Kenny Bayless respects Pacquiao too much to let him be damaged.
Better that than 12 rounds of shadow boxing. For all the money on this fight, it can’t be a snooze-fest.
“You don’t know how this fight is going to play out but I believe in my skills,” Mayweather said. “I believe I’m going to be victorious. I’ve worked extremely hard to win this fight and I’m sure he did the same. That’s why it’s an intriguing match-up.”
Style points will not count in this one. This is about proving who is more macho.
“It’s a big responsibility to give the fans what they deserve,” Pacquiao said. “They deserve a good fight.”
Pacquiao had a few more thousand fans at the weigh-in than did Mayweather, whose flamboyance and issues with domestic violence can be a turnoff. Yet, his merchandise for “The Money Team” and “TBE” — as in “The Best Ever” — were flooding the streets of Las Vegas.
The fight may not reach the $400 million that was projected, but the future of any rematch will depend on how competitive the first Fight of the Century is.
“I’ve dedicated myself to boxing for more than 20 years,” Mayweather said. “I’m ready.”
Despite acquiring 11 world titles in five different weight divisions, Mayweather remains hungry as he faces the final two fights of his six-fight deal with
CBS/Showtime. At age 38, he is talking of retiring after a proposed bout in September. Pacquiao, 36, has a second career as a congressman. Saturday night, they need to be warriors.