Mayweather vs Pacquiao
It is the most anticipated fight for a generation and the waiting is almost over.
Boxing fans are now less than 24 hours away from the biggest fight that could possibly be made in boxing, the one that is sure to be the single most important fight of a generation.
After years of failed negotiations, the pair would finally face off in the twilight of their glittering careers under the lights of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
It is the richest fight in boxing history, and seemed sure to live up to its billing
Undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) takes on perennial pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) in a title-unification bout for the ages.
“It’s all about timing and I think we couldn’t choose a better time,” Mayweather told the Associated Press. “This is a fight the world can’t miss. This is an unbe¬lievable matchup.”
The winner of the bout will net May¬weather’s Ring Magazine, WBC and WBA welterweight titles and Pac-quiao’s WBO strap as well as the top prize of them all, at least historically speaking: the Transnational Rankings welterweight champion¬ship, denoting the true and lineal welterweight king.
Pacquiao also has the opportunity to claim his fifth lineal title in as many weight classes, something never before done in boxing history
Mayweather’s record is quite simply impeccable, and if he makes it 48-0 this weekend, he could probably do worse than take his dad’s advice and hang up his gloves an immortal.
Pacquiao has tasted de¬feat on five occasions in his 64-fight career and the Fili¬pino has finished 38 of his 57 professional victories inside the scheduled distance, in comparison to Mayweather’s 26 knockouts in 47 successes.
However, Pacquiao hasn’t stopped an opponent since No¬vember 2009, when he put Miguel Cotto on the canvas in the 12th round fully 10 fights ago.
THE FORM
Consecutive defeats threatened to de¬rail Pacquiao’s career between December 2008 and June 2009, but he has since bounced back with three decision victories, including avenging the defeat to Timothy Bradley.
Mayweather has of course continued his unbeaten record in recent years, but you have to go back September 2009 to find his most recent knockout, against Victor Ortiz.
There have been only two knockouts in the last 12 fights involving the two adversaries, suggesting that we could be in for a marathon evening tonight (Early morning in Nigeria).
MUTUAL OPPONENTS
This is perhaps the most significant indicator of which way the fight may go, and these statistics lend weight to the argument that Pacquiao could end Mayweather’s perfect record.
The pair have five mutual opponents, namely Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Mar¬quez, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto.
Hatton is the only fighter that has been stopped by both Floyd and Manny, although the Filipino’s stoppage was much more emphatic, knocking the Brit out in the second round.
Pacquiao’s KO against Miguel Cotto, and De La Hoya’s eighth round retirement, means he has managed to stop two opponents that Mayweather failed to beat inside the scheduled distance.
Pacquiao has fought eight times against these opponents, due to his four battles with Marquez, of which he won two by deci¬sion, drew one, and lost one by knockout.
In this selection of fights, May¬weather’s connect rate (average percentage of punches landed) is 41 per cent, compared to Pacquiao’s 33%.
HOME ADVANTAGE
Las Vegas is Floyd Mayweath¬er’s hometown, and these numbers show he feels very much at home in the ring when it comes to fight¬ing in the gambling capital of the world.
The pound-for-pound king now fights exclusively in Vegas, with his last 12 bouts all taking place there, and his last 10 at the MGM Grand.
He has fought 23 times in the city altogether, just under half of all his professional bouts, and his record speaks for itself…
In the MGM Grand, he has only managed three knockouts in his 13 bouts, but is still yet to taste defeat.
Pacquiao’s record in Vegas is less impressive, with three of his five career defeats coming at the fight capital.
PACQUIAO’S EARNINGS
His opponent in the ring Saturday night is nicknamed “Money” and has created an entire persona around making and spending money. Manny Pacquiao does not flash his cash quite like Floyd Mayweather, but the Filipino congressman and pugilist has earned more during his Hall of Fame career than all but a handful of active athletes. The bout against against Mayweather will be the biggest payday of Pacquiao’s two-decade career in the ring and push his total earnings from boxing and endorsements past $400 million.
Pacquiao’s career earnings will reach an estimated $425 million, assuming he rakes in $80 million from the fight on top of $5 million from endorsements over the past year.
He joins a short list of active athletes who banked at least $425 million during their careers. The select group includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Roger Federer, LeBron James, Kobe Bry¬ant and Mayweather.
All but Mayweather and Pac¬quiao earned the bulk of their for¬tunes from endorsements. Woods is the lone billion-dollar earner, and his career PGA prize money of $110 million makes up less than 10% of his career haul.
Past Pacquiao partners included Hewlett-Packard HPQ -0.15%, Sony , Hennessy, Monster Energy and San Miguel Beer. His market¬ing team, led by Top Rank’s Lucia McKelvey, has done deals with Nike, Wonder Pistachios, Nestle ’s Butterfinger and Foot Locker FL +0.5% over the past year. Pac¬quiao has earned more than $30 million from endorsements during his long career, but the vast major¬ity of his fortune has been earned in the ring.
Pacquiao’s star power and earn¬ings exploded after his bout with Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008. Pacquiao received a guaran¬tee of $11 million (Accordimg to Forbes).
