You haven’t heard, the Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight is tomorrow night
Little room for error as the two best pound for pound boxers finally meet in the ring. Stats and artwork provided by Ethan Miller of Getty Images
If you haven’t, the 5’8”, 38 year-old Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. from Las Vegas, Nevada (47-0-0, 26 KOs) will be taking on 5’6½” 36 year-old Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) from General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur, Philippines in a 12-round welterweight world title unification bout tomorrow night,
May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a fight that is being promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., and sponsored by Tecate Beer con caracter, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions who will have Terminator Genisys in theaters July 1, Paramount Pictures & Skydance Productions who will have Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation in theaters July 31, The Weinstein Company with their new movie Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal in theaters July 24 and finally Mexico, Live it to Believe it. This live pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by Showtime PPV and HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. That takes care of our sponsors.
The promoters would also like you to know the boxers level of interest and work ethic has been through the roof. Was that statement necessary? Hasn’t it always been the norm for these warriors, especially when their opponent is trying to take their head off?
In essence we have one aging fighter, Mayweather, trying to preserve his legacy of eventually hitting the 50 win mark without a single loss. The other fighter and his trainer believe they have a plan to defeat this legend, a plan that went unnoticed by the 47 previous opponents. Insiders believe this so-called revelation is delusional, pure fantasy, no more than fight hype.
The long and often bumpy road has certainly paid off for the young man from General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur, Philippines.
Ramblings from the people who support Manny Pacquiao (aside from every Filipino on the planet)
You got to understand that would include most of Hollywood who live near Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym – actors like Mark Wahlberg, Michael Rapaport, etc. are frequent visitors to the gym, and as you would expect neighbors tend to support their neighbor.
Freddie Roach’s eloquence at the last Press Conference: “We are in the toughest fight of our life. We’re fighting the best fighter in the world… and we’re going to kick his ass. I’m sorry … but … Good luck Floyd.”
Bob Arum: “You know who I like. I’ve never been through an era where an entire country is invested wholeheartedly in one athlete. It’s not only the 90 to 100 million people who live in the Philippines, it’s the 185,000 Filipinos who live in Hong Kong, the 4 million Filipinos that live in the U. S., and the Filipinos who live all over the world. Everyone to a man has invested in the fortunes of this man. Here we have the perfect role model versus one of the very worst role models ever.”
At least Arum doesn’t mince words. He acknowledges the people who have been supporting him. Still, you have to wonder how come nobody has spotted Arum leaving a SportsBook window with a betting slip on his fighter? As the saying goes, Mr. Arum why don’t you put your money where your mouth is.
Miguel Cotto: “I believe Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach will combine to beat Mayweather. After working with Freddie, I think Freddie is going to be huge in this fight.”
From youngster to King of all he surveys, the Floyd Mayweather Jr. road also delt with many twists and turns.
Advice from those who see Mayweather winning #48:
Keith Thurman: “I favor Mayweather in the fight. But it’s a great fight and I expect it to be one of the toughest Mayweather has had in the last several years.”
Showtime boxing analyst and two-time world titlist Paulie Malignaggi likes Mayweather: “If Manny’s going to have a shot at winning, he better start off fast. I see Floyd taking his time and just trying to get Pacquiao to miss and take away his confidence. Floyd will be stepping in with his pot-shot counters or at times just have Manny miss altogether. Little by little the trick is if Floyd is having his way, he’ll be able to frustrate Pacquiao into realizing that, ‘The offense that I have, that normally works so well, is not working here.’ And then as the rounds go by and he starts to get the timing better off these Pacquiao misses, he’ll make him pay. He’ll start to get comfortable, and step in harder on the counters.”
Wladimir Klitschko: “From a boxing standpoint, I give Floyd a 51% advantage, Manny a 49%. Watching their styles, I think Floyd has a slight advantage and will win on points.”
The Wise Guy: “Let me think about this. Two super stars – one so beloved he has an entire nation behind him. The other, so spoiled he wallows in self pity, cockiness, self-indulgence as if having money and more of everything is the only thing important in life. The fight is at the MGM Grand Garden Arena where I hear tickets, even in the upper deck, are now going for $55,000. The Casino wants Mayweather to win. He’s been their bread and butter. The referee of the bout is Kenny Bayless, who is always looking out for Money. And the judges for this contest? You know one or maybe even two are in Mayweather’s pocket. That’s why I’m going with The Money Team.”
The uncommitted Mike Tyson: “If you’re going to beat this guy (Mayweather), you’re going to have to fight him dirty. I think there will be a knockout.”
Most memorable quotes from Sir Floyd:
After losing in the Olympics: “The best thing that comes out of a loss, is to never lose again.”
“Some guys you love, some guys you love to hate. That’s what sells tickets. I’d rather be hated for being real, than be loved for being someone that I’m not.”
“This is the biggest boxing match in the history of the sport. It’s a fight so big, it doesn’t have to be sold.”
Vegas is offering enticements for you to stay longer in Las Vegas:
The MGM Grand would love it if you stayed a while longer to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and their interactive margarita and guacamole making demonstrations.
In 2014, more than 40 million funseekers visited Las Vegas to indulge in over-the-top shows, extravagant meals and luxurious spa treatments, marking another impressive year. How impressive? Even though certain statistics are off limits – for example, how much money did an average visitor lose at the tables, the hotels do offer the following stats from 2014:
7,982,550 pillows were fluffed at the MGM Grand
46,363 margaritas were sipped at Hecho en Vegas at the MGM Grand
100,000 pints of Guinness were gulped down at New York-New York’s Nine Fine Irishmen
96,719 pounds of crab legs were cracked at Aria’s
5,472 roses were distributed by Boyz II Men during their “I’ll Make Love to You” shows at The Mirage
When the 2015 stats come out, you can be sure Vegas will be mentioning the historic prices people paid for their ringside seats to see this Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight and with their 60-40 split, both boxers should be able to move ahead of the athletes currently on the top money maker list which includes golfer Tiger Woods, tennis player Roger Federer, soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, NFL quarterbacks and even a basketball player by the name of King James.
San Diego’s representative at the show, Bobby DePhilippis, who normally speaks with an economy of words, should be sitting ringside with a beautiful lady. (We all chipped in.) “The winner will be the Boxing Community & the FANS,” says Bobby D. His good friend, Ray Correa, offered Bobby this advice: “No yelling!! or screaming!! Save that beautiful voice…go Pacquiao!!!”
Bobby D’s reservations were for the MGM Grand Hotel. It’s not as splendid as Motel 6, but they do keep the light on for you.
The undercard which supports this long awaited, history making event:
(l to r) Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz and his opponent Jose Cayetano
The always exciting Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 KOs), the WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion will be moving up in weight to fight fellow Mexican Jose Cayetano (17-3, 8 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight contest.
Santa Cruz: “I want to look spectacular. I want to get Cayetano out of there really fast. Sometimes these kind of fighters are the ones who give you the hardest fights because they come hungrier and have nothing to lose.”
Cayetano: “I know Santa Cruz is a strong, a difficult fighter but he also has weaknesses and that is what we prepared for, to give him a surprise.”
(l to r) the Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko and Puerto Rico’s Gamalier Rodriguez
The Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, 1 KO), is considered to be the greatest amateur fighter of all time. He’s set to face Puerto Rico’s Gamalier Rodriguez (25-2-3, 17 KOs).
Lomachenko’s thoughts: “I’m so very happy to be in the opening bout of this huge fight that will be seen by millions of viewers from around the world and you will see the best that I have to offer.”
Boxers not on the televised portion:
Chris “Young King” Pearson (11-0, 9 KOs) will be facing Said El Harrak (12-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round middleweight bout; hard-hitting Jesse Hart (16-0, 13 KOs) will be going up against fellow unbeaten Mike Jimenez (17-0, 11 KOs) in a 10-rounder for the NABO, USBA and NABF Super Middleweight titles; power-punching Andrew “The Beast” Tabiti (9-0, 9 KOs) will be facing Anthony Caputo Smith (15-4, 10 KOs) in a cruiserweight eight-rounder and undefeated super middleweight Brad Solomon (24-0, 9 KOs) will face Adrian Rene Granados (13-3, 9 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
(l to r) Jesse “Hard Work” Hart and Mike “Hollywood” Jimenez.
(l to r) Super middleweights Brad Solomon and Adrian Rene Granados.
(l to r) cruiserweight Anthony Caputo Smith, CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe and Smith’s opponent Andrew “The Beast” Tabiti
(l to r) Middleweights Said El Harrak and Chris “Young King” Pearson
More trivia:
Tony Buzbee, an attorney, who paid $74,000 for a pair of 12th-row seats, told CNN: “It’s going to be a once in a lifetime type of fight, and I’m going to be there just for the event of it all.”
The winning bid of the Tecate Beer company to be the official sponsor of this event: $5.6 million dollars.
Tecate and Tecate Light are popular pale lagers named after the city of Tecate, B. C., Mexico, just south of San Diego, where they were first produced in 1943. In 2010 the the Dutch brewing company Heineken International bought the company. They also produces Dos Equis XX, Carta Blanca, Sol, Indio, Moctezuma, Noche Buena, Bohemia Beer, Michelada, Sito de Kaiser, Casta, Superior and Cerveza Indio.
One final detail, enjoy the fights!
The Pacquiao fans are already lining the streets in preparation for the celebratory welcome home parade through the streets of Manila.
