They’re undoubtedly the best boxers of their generation – they’d be the best of a few other generations too. Fight fans have been clamouring for this match-up for about six years. It’s the equivalent of a World Cup final, the Super Bowl, the Masters, Wimbledon and the Tour de France – combined.
What the winner walks away with:
Bragging rights as the best fighter of this generation….and a custom-made, emerald encrusted $1million belt made by the WBC.
Reason to watch:
It’s the biggest sporting event of the year and will go down as a “where were you when?” moment in sporting history. Two masters of their art going at it to decide once and for all which one of them is the best.
Reason to turn away:
They should’ve fought five years ago and they’re both going downhill. It’s not the fight it should have been. Plus they want you to fork out $60 (AU) to watch and it could be over in less than a minute!
Why are they fighting now?
Basically there’s no one left to fight. After years of ducking each other and the odd drug testing controversy, there’s finally no one left worth fighting. Both fighters have seen their pay per view earnings decrease in their last couple of bouts as fight fans grew tired of predictable outcomes.
Even then, it took a chance encounter at an NBA game in January for the pair to finally meet and get the ball rolling on the deal.
The trainers:
Mayweather is trained by his father, Floyd Sr, himself a former title contender. The elder Mayweather was “Money’s” first trainer but wound up in prison when his life hit the skids and he turned to crime and drugs. Sr’s brother, Roger, trained Floyd for a few years when father and son had a falling out, but it’s all been patched up now.
Mayweather is trained by Hall of Fame mentor Freddie Roach out of the Wild Card Boxing Club in LA. While Mayweather is known as the biggest trash-talker in a sport full of them, it’s been Roach who has done most of the smack-talking in the prefight build-up.
Who’s the ref?
Kenny Bayless: A 64-year old veteran of over 100 title bouts including five Mayweather fights and seven Pacquiao bouts. He’ll earn about $25,000 – roughly the same as Mayweather’s mouthguard costs…
Still tickets going around?
Lol. There were only about 500 made available to the public and they were snapped up in 60 seconds.
Why Mayweather will win:
He’s a defensive genius and throws punches with precision and perfect timing. He’s too calculated, doesn’t get caught up in the moment and is too patient for the sometimes reckless Pacquiao. Pacman won’t be able to catch him, but it could be a dull fight for the casual fan.
Why Pacquiao will win:
He’s got the fastest fists in the world, the hardest left in boxing and Mayweather has had troubles against southpaws in the past. He’s the only man on the planet capable of stopping Mayweather and his whirlwind pursuit will result in the most exciting fight ever.
Bold prediction:
Mayweather by decision.
The fight is scheduled for 12 three-minute rounds with a one minute rest in between.
Boxing scoring is based on a “10-point system”. The fighter who wins the round gets 10 points and the other bloke gets nine. A fighter is deducted one point each time he is knocked down.
A fighter can also be deducted one point for a foul, including head-butting, biting and punching below the belt.
Three judges score each fight independently of each other and if the bout goes the distance, their scorecards are totalled and read out.
If all judges agree, we have a “unanimous decision”. If two judges agree, it’s called a “split decision”. Plenty of other outcomes are possible, the most common of which is a draw (each judge calls it a draw. Or, to use this fight as an example: One judge thinks Pacquiao won, another thinks Mayweather won and the third has a draw) or a “majority draw” (two judges score it even).
A knockout occurs when one fighter hits the canvas and can’t get up by the count of ten.
A technical knock out happens when the referee, the fighter or his corner stop the fight.
The judges for the fight are Dave Moretti (Las Vegas), Burt A. Clements (Reno) and Glenn Feldman (Connecticut). Each judge will earn $20,000 for the fight.
Drug testing was one of the reasons this fight wasn’t made years ago, but the fighters are undergoing USADA style testing for this one.