The Fight Is On

As the Super Bowl came and went with no announcement, many people thought that the fight might never happen. Nevertheless, after many years of negotiations and anticipation, the fight between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2, 2015. Because the negotiations have taken so long, both fighters are in the twilight of their careers. Still, this fight is already one of the most talked about and anticipated fights in the history of boxing. Both fighters are the boxing superstars of their generation and have helped to keep alive a seemingly dying sport.

Both Mayweaher and Pacquiao are set to make a boatload of money from the fight. Mayweather was announced as the world’s highest paid athlete in 2014 by Forbes Magazine. Now, Mayweather is about to have the biggest payday of his career. Mayweather is expected to receive at least $120 million, while Pacquiao will make at least $80 million. To put that in some perspective, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier split $5 million for their famous March 8, 1971, bout at New York's Madison Square Garden. Each man's $2.5 million purse, adjusted for inflation, would be $14.6 million in 2014 dollars, according to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistic's inflation calculator. Mayweather alone will make more than many Major League Baseball teams’ entire 2015 season payroll. The amount of money involved in this fight is absolutely remarkable, which might explain why it took so long for everything to come together.

Because the fight is five years too late and both fighters have arguably lost a step in their more advanced ages, the question becomes will the fight live up to all the hype and money? I sure hope so, but regardless this fight will continue to be one of the biggest sports stories all the way up until May 2.

Justin Davis, Staff Editor