World Boxing News looks back at how the welterweight Pay-Per-View blockbuster in Las Vegas, Mayweather vs Pacquiao, eventually made it over the line.
Boxing superstars Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao locked horns in 2015. The mega-fight was one of the most eagerly anticipated of all time.
The primary stunning stumbling block was the anti-doping tests demanded by Floyd of Manny. Initially, Manny refused to undergo the testing under Floyd’s terms.
With time, that issue was resolved. The next sticking point boiled down to economics. So still no meeting of minds!
Floyd then claimed Manny had squandered the right to fight… him!
Mayweather vs Pacquiao
Rivals came, and rivals went, during these long accumulating years, while a stab at several negotiations blunted and dulled. Until….the last bout of the WBC welterweight and super welterweight Champion, against Argentinian Marcos Maidana, where the window for a possible MEGA-FIGHT appeared to be ajar again.
Statements were released- some palpably more optimistic than others. But still, nothing was clear, cut, and dried.
The final thaw and warming happened when “Money” and “Pacman” somehow bumped into each other at an NBA game. As the Miami Heat faced Milwaukee Bucks, MayPac began generating high expectancy levels.
Both fighters traded numbers and handshakes during that cordial, fateful, and fruitful encounter. Hope flickering eternal, rekindled, and suddenly ignited. Red golden hot!
Then there was Manny’s statement: “As I have said before, fans deserve this fight. I wanted it a long time ago. But the other camp keeps refusing to make it happen.”
A frenzy occurred on social networks, and the brand “Foot Locker” took exquisite advantage of the situation by releasing a campaign, including both boxers chatting.
Manny suddenly lost the primary focus, hearing what their partners were talking about. This comment is what Manny interprets as the fight against Floyd!
In response, and perhaps with tongue in cheek, came a hopeful retaliation. Floyd then uploads a video mocking Manny’s KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
The hashtag #fightpacquiao was created to increase the pressure for this fight.
That’s how we reached February 20, 2015, when it was finally presented.
MGM Grand
Floyd Mayweather published on the app “‘Shots” the announcement of their fight against Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
It included a picture of the contract already signed by both fighters.
Manny Pacquiao announced: “I am really happy that Floyd Mayweather and I will finally have the fight the people want to see.”
The fight went down on May 2. And as they say, the rest is confined to history.
