In Las Vegas, American boxer defeated his Filipino opponent by unanimous decision

Round 12 gong sounds. Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao throw up their hands triumphantly. At the same time, millions of TV viewers around the world instantly turn off their devices, and thousands of fans in the hall do not understand what, in fact, happened now. They were expecting a battle of the century, but they got a banal "declass". Immediately after this very bell, everything was clear to everyone: Floyd defeated Manny by unanimous decision. And so he remained undefeated.

To begin with, I propose to understand the following. Confrontations and fights themselves are two completely different things. It just so happened that the greats, for example, Mohammed Ali, Joe Fraser and George Foreman - they had the same concept. Because in every battle with each other, they arranged real battles. The modern viewer still lives with those glorious times and the golden era of boxing. Things are different now. We saw cool fights with a transcendental nerve and denouement, but, in fact, did not see great confrontations. And, in the words of football people: your expectations are your problems. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are participants in a great confrontation. But not a great, furious battle. It happens, and this should be taken calmly.

Yes, I absolutely agree with those who say that the advertising of the fight and its poster were too overwhelmed, not at all to match what happened in the ring. But. It was impossible for such names to make another poster. The fact is that the confrontation between these boxers has been going on for more than one year. Correspondence: who is better in fights not with each other. And with this fantastic nature of ours and, at one time, unrealizable, we got ourselves into the opinion that this is the greatest confrontation. Just like they like to imagine a hypothetical fight between Ali and Mike Tyson. Similar. It's just that in our case the fight did take place, because the boxers are from the same era.

Therefore, I ask you not to confuse the concepts of confrontation and duel. Which, in fact, turned out to be predictable.

I wrote that Mayweather is a very smart boxer. He decided to meet with Pacquiao when he is least dangerous. And then, when it will bring the most money just because of the poster of the century. Poster of the battle of the century. By the way, this didn’t add to Manny’s personal account either: the total fees for the fight amounted to about $ 300 million.

At stake were many championship belts, led by the main one - the WBC version of the emerald, which is made of Ferrari leather, decorated with 3 thousand emeralds and a kilogram of gold. Made, of course, by hand.

But the main intrigue was different: will there remain undefeated Floyd, will Pacquiao be the first to find the key to Mayweather's filigree defense, or will he fail?

The first rounds (in fact, like the whole fight) passed in a predictable manner. Manny conquered the center of the ring and attacked with swoops as planned. The American willingly gave his opponent an advantage and skillfully used his defensive skills. In the event of any danger at close range, Floyd instantly "clinched".

And Pacquiao had no choice but to go forward and enter the distance. He needed two things: to eliminate Mayweather's advantage in height and range of hands (in the second component "Money" won as much as 10 centimeters) and to constantly apply pressure. He, in fact, tried to do this. But there is another problem: almost everyone tried to do this with Floyd. Manny's main mistake was that he did it in the same straightforward manner. And in this direct blunder of it coaching staff... Pacman was not tactically ready. He repeated everything the same as the previous 47 defeated rivals Mayweather Jr.

He "shot" in the first half of the battle, and then Floyd appeared on the stage. Rather, he was already there, but at the expense of his proprietary protection. From the moment of the equator of the battle, he began to attack more. He shook Manny pretty well a couple of times, but he wasn’t taking much risk. It was just a methodical beating of your opponent with not strong, but accurate punches. Crown jabs with the front hand and well-timed counters, round after round, imposed one thought on the audience: "declassing." Mayweather was the best in the ring.

And this is not bias. Rather, it is the predictability of the entire fight. He was typical Floyd. As a result, the American athlete, especially without breaking forward, tactically competently brought the matter to the referee's decision. Which was an empty formality. 118: 110, 116: 112, 116: 112 - the victory was unanimously given to Mayweather.

Yes, no doubt: in this fight it was Pacquiao who wanted to "fight" more. But, excuse me, each of the boxers showed their boxing. Manny was ready to cut, which is what he was always famous for. Floyd, on the other hand, acted primarily with his head, with an eye on the record without defeats. Mayweather was never the one who is able to enter and exit the wheelhouse victorious. This is not his style.

Therefore, the past fight is a cold calculation in the performance of one athlete, and an attempt to pick up the key in the performance of the second.

The key was not found, and that is why Pacquiao lost. And Mayweather's door remains closed for 48 fights.

On May 2, in Las Vegas, we saw the end of a great confrontation. It was the "Poster of the Century". But a simple, ordinary, beautiful fight with the "declaration" element. Most likely, he will not be remembered. But they will definitely remember this confrontation. During which, nevertheless, it became clear who is better.

Better now, regardless of weight category- Floyd Mayweather Jr.

This battle had risen too high in its significance before it was held, after which it collapsed with an incredibly loud bang, debunking the myth of the status of the “battle of the century”. You can see enough of such "fights of the century" for 5-6 fights a year, so you shouldn't use this term anymore. An excellent publicity stunt for promoters who were in such a big profitable plus in terms of money that the memory of this fight will remain as the most expensive, but by no means the coolest.

The hopes and sympathies of most boxing fans went to Manny Pacquiao. Boxing is life, a natural reflection of true human strength at the moment. And as practice has shown, these days the power of the money bag and the arrogant, but still incredibly talented boxer prevailed. And honor, dignity, humanity, coupled with the speed and force of the blow, were left behind. It is simply impossible not to love Manny Pacquiao, especially knowing him. The slums raised him, and now we give them his due all his life. He spends a lot of money not on himself, as is typical of Floyd Mayweather, but on the poor neighborhoods of Manila. A man-hero, a man-legend who never managed to become a cult boxer. He's great, but not big enough to be able to outplay a champion.

Mayweather showed absolutely nothing in this fight, and there was no need to show him anything. It was Manny who needed to find gaps in the impenetrable defense of Mayweather, break the distance and constantly keep the pace, tighten the opponent. But Pacquiao didn't do much either. To say that it was a boring fight is to say nothing. He was literate, a kind of manual for a novice boxer. How to hit, how to move, where to go after a blow, how to attack towards, etc. But that's all. A real demonstration fight, and such do not go down in history. The history includes exceptions to the rules, outstanding fights, where boxers move to another, transcendental level, discover new abilities in themselves on top of those that they already possess to the fullest. A boxing match does not have to be a cockpit, but a fight with such a flashy signboard, at least, had to be super-spectacular. And he certainly did not justify the money that was at stake. For these millions of dollars, Mike Tyson at one time would agree to enter the ring against his entire division at the same time. And I would have won in the best shape. But the MayPack standoff was not worth over $ 300 million.

Floyd simply kept Pacman at a distance for the entire fight, walking along all four sides of the ring and gently hugging his opponent in cases of impending danger. Why couldn't Manny do anything? Because the champion didn't let him do anything. Yes, it's a shame that all dangerous attacks ended in a clinch, but this is only a problem for Pacquiao and his coach Freddie Roach. And expecting a spectacular duel from Mayweather is an empty matter. If you are upset with the decision of the judges, then just do not bring the matter to the decision. Or do everything so that they have no doubts. Mayweather does not enter the ring to please the fans. He goes out to play chess, and in this he is incredibly good, if not wonderful. Pragmatism, restraint - these are his trump cards. But what if one fine moment all boxers become a kind of "swing" in the ring, chess players in gloves? What will become of this sport? Even Dmitry Pirog, who prefers to box wisely, turns out to be a more entertaining athlete compared to Mayweather.

In general, the excitement around the fight will pass incredibly quickly. Only the result and the invincible champion status will remain. Floyd Mayweather has already announced that there is only one fight left until the end of his professional career, which will most likely take place this fall. After which he will leave boxing in the rank undefeated champion the world in several weight categories and in several boxing associations at once. And then nothing will stop him from considering himself greater than Mohammed Ali. But it's one thing to consider yourself as such, and another thing when people recognize you as such.

P.S. We cannot but say our opinion about the broadcast on Channel One. If you took up the show of such a loud fight, then be so kind as to keep the brand. Do not insert ads against diarrhea between rounds. Was it really impossible to pick up videos on a sports or near-sports theme? In addition, it was funny to listen to the commentator who told the whole fight that Pacquiao had done absolutely nothing in 12 rounds. He colorfully described Mayweather's hits, and answered Manny's hits with significant silence. As if in those moments I was leaving the commentary. The fight was too equal to speak of Floyd's superiority.

Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao- boxing PPV welterweight fight, at stake which were the titles of WBA super, WBC, WBO, Ring magazine, and the title of the best boxer, regardless of weight category. The fight took place on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand arena and ended with a unanimous victory for Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Part 1. Fight Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather. Fight of the Millennium.

Millennium fight between two superstars professional boxing passed in the most unexpected manner for the audience, for the layman it was boring, without any special aggravating attacks. The fight for every minute of which the boxers received an average of about 5,000,000 dollars was not a triumphant spectacle, it was more like a game of chess between two grandmasters in boxing gloves.

This fact is confirmed by statistics, out of 435 hits of Mayweather junior, only a third reached the goal, Pacquiao had even less, with an almost equal number of hits thrown out - 429, there were only a fifth of clear hits.

Driven almost to the point of being an amateur and professional career Floyd's defense unshakably withstood all the multi-hitting combinations of the Filipino, in turn, no one managed to provoke Mayweather Jr. into an open exchange of blows for many years, Manny was no exception.

Pacquiao showed high level boxing and tactically showed himself to a level higher than the American, many believe that as a contender he gave more than 100%, but the referee's verdict was still in favor of Floyd Jr.

Everyone was waiting for this event for about 8 years and in the end, the holiday was a success, but mostly for two legendary boxers of their era.

Part 2. Fight Manny Pacquiao - Floyd Mayweather. Prehistory of the breakdowns of the battle.

For more than 8 years, the entire boxing world has been waiting for the fight between these two boxers. This part of the article will be devoted to the history of the disruptions of the battle of the century for 8 years.

When on August 8, 2012, Floyd Mayweather just got out of prison and here, boxing fans had a small hope that soon they would still be able to organize this fight.

It all began in 2008, when Manny Pacquiao miraculously began to rapidly gain muscle mass.

Without losing speed and smashing all the superstars in all weights, from lightweight to first middleweight. Even then, everyone had doubts about whether the Filipino was taking illegal drugs. He dialed very quickly muscle mass, and even was able to surpass Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Antonio Margarito in striking power, and this despite the fact that Manny began his performances in the professional ring in the bantamweight category up to 48 kg.

As Floyd put it, "Manny showed very mediocre results before moving to America, when Freddie Roach started working with him and his punching power and dimensions doubled at once." Floyd never spoke openly about Pacquiao doping, but in every interview about a potential fight with Manny, he implicitly accused Pacquiao of doping.

The condition has always been simple. It was necessary to undergo an examination at the WADA International Anti-Doping Commission. It is this commission that monitors amateur boxers on international competitions and Olympic Games... Professional Boxers are less tightly controlled, which creates opportunities for doping.

Pacquiao's first answer was extremely bizarre and stupid.

He stated that he was afraid of injections and that he was against taking blood at any time during preparation for the competition. This is at least strange considering that Manny Pacquiao's entire body is covered with tattoos. In the future, Manny agreed to blood sampling at any time, but no later than 20 days before the fight. Floyd was not satisfied with these conditions and the battle dragged on for 2 years. During this time, Floyd and Manny killed all the top boxers, and they had no worthy competitors other than themselves.

In the end, Manny agreed to have blood drawn anytime before the fight and a new problem arose.

Division of Fee.

Each party insisted on most of the royalties from all fees. The battle was practically organized on May 12, 2012, but there was another breakdown of the battle for very strange reasons. As a result, on May 12, Floyd fought against Miguel Cotto, and Manny later met with Timothy Bradley, to whom he sensationally lost (all viewers were unanimous that Manny was sued).

Last Saturday, when the whole boxing world was in anticipation of a re-fight between Kazakhstani Gennady Golovkin and Mexican Saul Alvarez, the media stunned with a sensational report that at the end of this year another rematch of superstar boxers - 41-year-old American Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0-0, 27 KO) and 39-year-old Filipino Manny Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KO).

“I am returning to face Manny Pacquiao this year. Another check with a nine-digit amount. "

And almost immediately after this, a message of the same content was published on his Instagram by the ex-world champion in eight weight categories, and now the regular WBA welterweight champion Pacquiao, who promised to inflict the first defeat on Mayweather in his professional career: "50-1, no excuses."

The boxing community at one time expected the organization of the first fight between these rivals for 7 or 8 years. However, when this battle took place in May 2015, it turned out not to be a mega-fight coveted for many, but a frankly boring and insipid confrontation. The expectations of boxing fans did not come true then. Many of them called that fight dull and boring, and some considered themselves deceived. Although such a scenario for the development of events in the ring from the very beginning seemed quite likely.

Knowing the cautious, protective, rational manner of conducting Mayweather's duel, it was hardly worth hoping that in such a responsible fight, and even against such a serious opponent, he would suddenly decide to radically change it and climb into the wheelhouse. Regarding Pacquiao, it would be wrong to reproach him, because he was the only one who tried to aggravate in the ring that evening, trying to impose exchanges of punches on Floyd. But Manny simply could not do this, he did not manage to implement such tactics due to the skill, speed and mobility of the opponent.

Mayweather also superbly took advantage of the advantage over his opponent in linear dimensions in this fight, not allowing his counterparts to reach a dangerous distance in most episodes of the fight. The American mainly tried to "dry" the battle, often clinching and leaning on the opponent when the slightest danger appeared for himself. Also, Floyd made full use of his trademark agility on his feet, acted clearly and rationally to control the development of events in the ring. Pacquiao, on the other hand, in most of the episodes did not reach the target, his blows either flew past, or fell in passing.

In the final score, all three side judges unanimously gave the victory to Mayweather - 118-110, 116-112, 116-112. According to the computer counting of strikes, of 435 attempts by Mayweather, 148 were effective, while of 429 shots of Pacquiao, only 81 fell on the target.

In post-match interviews, the American paid tribute to his opponent, saying that he was able to outbox Pacquiao, first of all, due to competent defense. And even Mayweather's father and coach Floyd Sr. could not get him to fight more actively. Then Floyd did not say a word about the possibility of a rematch, and even said that he did not want to break the legendary record of Rocky Marciano, who left the ring as the world champion, having 49 victories on his account without a single defeat, and clarifying that he had enough and repeating that record (after beating Pacquiao, Mayweather had a 48-0-0, 26 KO track record).

Pacquiao then noted that he did not consider himself a loser in the battle, since he was more active in the ring, and Mayweather only avoided the fight. The Filipino also said that although the opponent's blows were very strong, they did not shake him at all. Pacquiao saw the main reason for this development in the ring in Mayweather's superiority over him in linear dimensions. The Filipino's then coach, Freddie Roach, said he was chewing for Mayweather to give his ward an immediate rematch. A little later, Pacquiao himself began to talk about this.

But later it never seemed that the rivals were close to organizing a re-fight. Pacquiao began to heal his injured right shoulder, which his team believed was one of the main factors behind his poor performance in that fight. Manny returned to the ring after almost a year, defeating American Timothy Bradley on points in their third fight. After that, Pacquiao had 3 more fights. First, he confidently dealt with the Mexican-American Jesse Vargas. Then in July 2017 he went to Australia, where he suffered a controversial defeat at the hands of local boxer Jeff Horn. And finally, in July of this year, Manny won his first early victory since 2009, defeating Argentine Lucas Matisse in the 7th round.

During this time, Pacquiao pondered many times about ending his boxing career. But he did not make any statements about hanging gloves on a nail, although he was elected to the Senate of the Philippines and devoted a lot of time to legislative work. Also during this period, Manny made major changes in his team, refusing to further cooperate with promoter Bob Arum and coach Freddie Roach, with whom he walked side by side for a long time and in partnership with whom he achieved his greatest successes in the ring. Now he personally manages his sports career, and his longtime friend and assistant Buba Fernandez became his coach.

As for Mayweather, then 4 months after the fight with the Filipino, he spent the last of six of his fights previously planned under a grand contract with Showtime, having easily dealt with compatriot Andre Berto. After that, repeating the iconic indicator of Rocky Marciano, Floyd, as promised, announced the end of his boxing career.

But, despite repeated confirmation of his reluctance to return to the ring, after 2 years of inactivity, Mayweather lived up to his nickname "Money", seduced by a promising fight with MMA superstar Irishman Conor McGregor, which took place in August 2017. In it, Floyd, in an atypical for himself the former pressing style, defeated an opponent by TKO in the 10th round and deposited a huge amount into his bank account. Since that fight, Mayweather's total earnings for his entire sports career have surpassed the fantastic $ 1 billion mark.

And now, after such unexpected information about the possibility of a re-fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao, many are asking the question: does the boxing world need a re-fight between them? And the opinions of the boxing public on this matter were divided. Many believe that this idea is already outdated and it is last years no one really expected. In fact, the fight between a retired 41-year-old and a semi-retired 39-year-old boxer does not look in demand for the boxing public.

But on the other hand, there are opinions that Floyd and Manny still have superstar status and their meeting in the ring has not completely lost its relevance. And many of Pacquiao's fans would like to receive satisfaction for losing the first fight, in which their idol was prevented from boxing with full dedication by injury and which, as they believe, the then-nimble Mayweather simply “dried up”.

Despite this, it is most beneficial for the boxers themselves to conduct this fight. Pacquiao, who earned several hundred million dollars in his professional career, according to some reports, could not properly dispose of them. And for a figure (including a political one) of such a scale as he is, several tens of millions of dollars earned at the end of his career will be very useful. There is nothing to say about Mayweather, because, as he himself stated, more than anything in the world he loves money.

And if you just think rationally and somewhere even cynical, then why shouldn't people who have spent so many years and efforts on promoting and popularizing their names take advantage of their fame to make money on it at the end of their sports careers... There is clearly no need to blame them for this, since in their place almost everyone would have done this.

We can also note one more factor that will attract the attention of a certain part of boxing fans to this rematch. The fact is that a decent number of them would like to see the first defeat of Mayweather, who has an undefeated status. After all, everyone knows that Floyd built his immense popularity and box office thanks to years of creating a negative image for the audience. A decent part of the public bought paid broadcasts of his fights, hoping to finally see how he would be beaten.

Even returning to the first fight with Pacquiao, one can recall that immediately after its end, spectators sitting in the arena of Floyd's native city of Las Vegas greeted the winner with disapproving hum and boo, and Mayweather himself teased them with pleasure, climbing on the ropes and demonstrating that no matter how anyone dislikes it, but he is the best. Therefore, there are surely enough boxing fans who will want to buy a PPV broadcast of this rematch just for the hope of watching Floyd's first defeat.

In addition, almost any outcome of this fight will no longer significantly affect the overall assessment of the achievements that these two world boxing superstars have achieved over the years in the ring. In fact, it will really be a fight between two rivals of pre-retirement or even retirement age for boxing. Because of this, of course, there can be no talk of any "dream battle" in this case.

If this fight passes, it will be pretty much just a money making show. Although, for sure, the organizers of the rematch will not be able to collect such huge incomes, which were obtained from the results of their first fight (a total of more than $ 550 million), which has become (and still is) the box office record holder in the entire history of boxing. And consequently, the fees of Floyd and Manny this time will be much less than in their first confrontation (then Mayweather received $ 210 million, and Pacquiao - about $ 140 million).

Mayweather defeated Pacquiao. How it was

American Floyd Mayweather Jr defeated Filipino Manny Pacquiao via unanimous decision.

7:55. So, with a score of 118: 110 and 116: 112 (two), the judges give the victory to Mayweather, who, along with a record fee, receives the WBA, WBC and WBO championship belts and finally consolidates his status as the best boxer of our time, regardless of the weight category.

7:45. Twelfth round. Mayweather is not trying to prove his superiority in attack, and without much risk continues to use his successful tactics. From Pacquiao's side, there are no new moves or attempts to bulk up. Mayweather hits the exit, restrains the opponent's attack with a jab and continues to easily evade his attacks. Lifting up right hand he is already openly mocking his opponent, but Pacquiao at the end of the fight raises both hands just for order. He himself understands that he has lost the battle. It remains to find out with what score.

7:42. Eleventh round. Mayweather hits with a right uppercut towards, but does not force events. Manny can't reach him in the corner of the ring either. The difference in the length of the opponents' arms affects - Mayweather wins the jab duel, and Pacquiao does not even try to storm the round at the end of the round.

7:40. Round ten. The pace of the battle drops, and a disapproving rumble begins in the hall. Too little happens in the ring for the fight of the century. Pacquiao cannot change the pattern of the fight, and Mayweather is quite happy with his move. He overestimates his opponent and does not want to take risks. The Filipino explodes much less often and gradually resigns himself to the inevitable outcome of this battle.

7:35 am. Ninth round. Pacquiao catches Mayweather on the left a couple of times, but cannot close the distance. Mayweather does not fuss, throws a jab and continues to challenge his opponent. He again meets Manny well on the right and does just enough to hold the opponent back.

7:30. Eighth round. Pacquiao hits at the beginning of the round with the left and, inspired by this, tries to build on his success, but Mayweather defends himself brilliantly with his body and continues his successful game. The Filipino begins to stagnate, and it is difficult for him to find a convenient distance for himself.

7:27. Seventh round. Mayweather himself went forward and delivered a couple of sweeping punches from the right. Pacquiao tries to shoot back with a jab, but again misses more of the opponent. His left-handedness does not give Pacquiao any inconvenience. In this round, the Filipino is not so active, and Mayweather only needs to hold him with a jab at a distance.

7:25. Sixth round. Pacquiao continues to miss one shot and lose the fight. His speed does not pose a particular threat to the American, who does not allow himself to be locked up and delivered with an accurate and hard blow. Pacquiao is still unloading his guns in the corner, but Floyd unperturbedly defends himself. He plays while the opponent is wasting his strength.

7:20. Fifth round. Mayweather hits the opponent with a jab in the cut, and then goes on the attack and hits from the right. Pacquiao takes a pause in this round and refuses to swift attacks, but in a tactical confrontation he cannot outplay Mayweather and looks confused.

7:15 am. Fourth round. Pacquia continues to throw a series of punches, but Mayweather in each action is ahead of him on the move forward and manages to get away from all attacks. He rarely hits towards and takes on the defense of the next series of Pacquiao, which the audience is greeted with animation. At the end of the round, Mayweather again turns on the right to meet.

7:10. Round three. Pacquiao continues to go forward, but still can not drive the opponent into a corner. Floyd clinches several times. Pacquiao's attempts to swing the pendulum are unsuccessful and he almost misses dangerous blow Mayweather on the right. The American ends the round with a sweaty deuce towards him.

7:08 am. Round two. Pacquiao activates and squeezes the opponent into a corner. Mayweather demonstrates a brilliant reaction while avoiding punches and meeting opponents. Pacquiao explodes again, but cannot hit a flexible opponent. Floyd drops his hands and challenges the opponent to himself, continuing to act on counterattacks.

7:05. First round. Mayweather tries to keep the opponent at a distance and sometimes connects the right one to the meeting. Pacquiao has not yet managed to get close to Floyd. Mayweather walks away from the Filipino's attacks and clinches in the ending when he is in the corner.

7:00. Now Lennon has given way in the ring to Michael Buffer with his signature "Let's get ready to fight!" Buffer introduced Pacquiao, and Lennon introduced his channel's ward, Mayweather. All is ready! The battle begins!

6:15. Results of other preliminary battles:

Up to 76.2 kg. Gees Hart (17-0, 13 KOs) (USA) - Mike Jimenez (17-1, 11 KOs) (USA) - Hart won by TKO in the sixth round.

Up to 69.6 kg. Christopher Pearson (12-0, 9 KOs) (USA) - Said El Harrak (12-3-2, 7 KOs) (Morroco - Pearson wins by unanimous decision.

Up to 66.7 kg. Brad Solomon (25-0, 9 KOs) (USA) - Adrian Granados (13-4-2, 9 KOs) (Mexico) - Solomon won by split decision.

6:00. In Las Vegas main battle lingers a little at the already warmed up and overcrowded MGM Grand Arena. In one of the preliminary battles, two-time Olympic champion, Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KOs) successfully defended his WBO world featherweight title by knocking out Gamalier Rodriguez (25-3-3, 17 KOs) in the ninth round.

The approximate start of the battle at 06:55 (Moscow time).

On weigh-in, Mayweather showed a weight of 146 pounds (66.22 kg), and under Pacquiao, the scales indicated a mark of 145 pounds (65.77 kg).

Grigory Drozd, WBC World Champion in 1st heavyweight : “The whole world is waiting for this fight, and not only the world of boxing. With fees, status and popularity, they interested all segments of the population. My sympathies in this confrontation were and remain on the side. A very open, kind person who went through a lot, experienced both defeats and a terrible knockout. All this is conducive to sympathy. His human qualities and cool boxing style command great respect, but from a boxing point of view, I would call Mayweather the favorite, with a probability of 60 to 40. I think he will win on points. He has a very important property - the ability to bewitch rivals, to make them comfortable for him. This magical property influenced even the most serious fighters. On the Pacquiao side are legs, manual speed and serial production. Pacquiao is very fast on his feet, changes sides, maneuvers, angles. All this will be for him, as well as the blow. Pacquiao has it. I'm looking forward to the fight, I want to see Pacquiao win, but I think Mayweather will win. " ...

Quote of the Day: “An amazing amount of the audience. I am very glad that so many fans have gathered to support me and Manny. I am focused on what is to be done tomorrow. I have devoted over 20 years of my life to boxing. I'm ready, "Mayweather said.

Quote of the Day“I saw concern in Mayweather’s eyes,” Pacquiao said.

The refereeing team, which will serve the upcoming fight, has been determined. The third person in the ring will be experienced American referee Kenny Bayliss ... The side judges will be Bert Clements, Dave Moretti and Glenn Feldman. The fee of each of the side judges for this fight will be $ 20 thousand. The bout referee will earn $ 25 thousand.

Famous actor Jamie Foxx will perform the US anthem before the fight Mayweather - Pacquiao. Fox had previously played ahead of Shane Moseley's fight in 2011. The actor is known for his love of boxing: he starred in the film about Muhammad Ali "Ali", and now plays the main role in the biopic about Mike Tyson, which is directed by Martin Scorsese.

The other day Pacquiao helped his compatriot Mary Jane Veloso, who was sentenced to death on drug trafficking charges, to avoid execution... Veloso is charged with transporting 2.6 kg of heroin in 2010, but many believe that the 30-year-old woman is an innocent migrant who was tricked by drug traffickers. The Philippine government has sentenced Veloza to death. The verdict was to be carried out on the morning of April 29. However, Pacquiao sent a letter to the President of the country, Joko Widodo, asking him to pardon Veloza. "Mr. President. On May 2, I will fight Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, which is considered the fight of the century. I will feel morally uplifted if my little act can save a life. I dedicate this fight to my country and the entire Asian people. Thank you Mr. President, ”wrote Pacquiao. When the execution seemed imminent, the government granted Veloza an adjournment for an additional trial.

Tickets for the fight were sold out in about a minute after they went on sale. In total, on April 23, there were 500 tickets on free sale, costing from $ 1,500 to $ 7,500. Note that the MGM Grand arena is designed for 16,700 spectators. Only 45 minutes after the end of the free sale, resellers began to put up tickets for sale. The cheapest ticket from dealers costs $ 5796 The most expensive ticket (seat in the ringside) is $ 1 41 575 .

Quote of the Day: « This is an easy fight. I'm just telling you how I see him. I don't see anything important that Pacquiao has. All of his fights with Marquez were so equal and Floyd beat him easily. I will not say what the fight will be like. But Pacquiao is going to get some real punches and may give up. I mean, he'll kneel down and say, 'I don't want to keep fighting“- said the father and trainer of Floyd Floyd Mayweather Sr.

The name of Freddie Roach is known to almost every boxing fan. This little man with glasses and narrowed eyes regularly appears on TV screens during large and not-so-great fights of world-class professional boxers. In the past few years, various associations, federations and media related to boxing have recognized it with enviable regularity. the best coach of the year. Many of the world's leading boxers want to train under his leadership. And even some famous mixed martial arts fighters resorted to his services during the preparation for the fights. In March 2015, Freddie celebrated his 55th birthday. But, despite such a rather young age for a coach, he has already secured a place in the most honorable world boxing halls of fame. And, despite the serious ailment - Parkinson's disease - that he earned during intense performances in the ring, Roach does not even think about stopping his coaching activity in the foreseeable future.

Known rapper 50 Cent intends to make big bet on Mayweather's victory over Pacquiao ... Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, announced his intention to bet $ 1.6 million to win Mayweather on a radio show. In the event of the victory of the invincible Mayweather, nicknamed The Money, the singer's winnings will be $ 2.3 million. It is not yet known in which bookmaker 50 Cent is going to place a bet.

Australian sports channel Fox Sport reports that there are many big bets on the upcoming fight in Las Vegas. One of the major bookmakers in Las Vegas, Jimmy Vaccaro, who has accepted bets on all high-profile fights over the past 40 years, said that in the first days after the announcement of the fight, 150 bets were made in his office on Manny and only 10 on Floyd. After placing several bets of $ 10,000 each over the weekend, the bookmaker had to change the odds to attract more bets in favor of Mayweather Jr. “If right now wins Pacquiao, then we will suffer six-figure losses " - said Vaccaro. Initially, the odds of 1.33 were offered for the victory of the American, and 3.50 for the Filipino. However, at the moment, the coefficient on Pacquiao win dropped to 2.70, while 1.50 is already given for the American. Jimmy Vaccaro does not rule out that if this continues, PacMan will enter the fight on May 2 as the favorite.

The sums of money, which are called by various media regarding the Mayweather - Pacquiao fight, are impressive. First of all, this concerns the amount of boxers' fee for the fight, which is $ 200 million. Under the terms of the contract, Floyd Mayweather will receive $ 120 million for participation in the fight, and $ 80 million. The cost of tickets for the fight is also very high - from $ 1,500 to $ 7,500, but quite quickly a certain number of tickets fell into the hands of dealers, who began to sell them for $ 100,000 or more. Of particular interest are bets on the battle. Back in early March, bookmakers assumed that about $ 80 million would be bet on this fight, but today, according to unofficial data, they are already talking about $ 400 million taken by bookmakers.

Duel between the best boxers regardless of the weight category - American or Filipino - the dream of every fan who is fond of the topic of martial arts, and not only. The potential confrontation between some of the highest grossing athletes of our time has been talked about over the past eight years. And from year to year, various circumstances arose that prevented the achievement of consensus in negotiations between these fighters. At the same time, His Majesty boxing runs the risk of being left without one of the main fights of our time, which promises to answer the seemingly eternal question: who is stronger - Mayweather or Pacquiao? A dream fight, the interest in which, without exaggeration, can be compared with the superfinals of the world championships in football and hockey, simply must take place ... This material was written in early January. A month later, a contract for the duel of the century.

May 3, Las Vegas (USA). Welterweight title fight: WBA super, WBC, WBO, The Ring.

(USA, 47-0-0, 26 KOs) - (Philippines, 57-5-2, 38 KOs)

Fight Mayweather - Pacquiao will be a record for each of the boxers in terms of earnings. According to Forbes magazine, Mayweather will earn $ 150 million in this fight, and Pacquiao - $ 100 million ... Floyd's total earnings for the year may well exceed $ 200 million, given the fact that he will have one fight under the Showtime contract, which he may have in September. At the same time, Mayweather will break the record of the American golfer Tiger Woods, who in 2008 earned $ 125 million, adjusted for inflation.

WBC President Mauricio Suleiman announced the organization's intention to prepare a special championship belt, which will be awarded to the winner of the fight. We would like to remind that earlier the WBC had already established a “diamond” belt, which it used to celebrate the most significant fights. There will be four championship belts at stake. : WBA super, WBC, WBO and The Ring.

Upcoming the fight promises to be the highest grossing in boxing history ... Showtime and HBO had to agree to broadcast the fight together, since each of the fighters has an exclusive contract with one of the networks: Mayweather works with Showtime, and Pacquiao - with HBO.

Pacquiao demanded include a penalty clause in the duel contract for the fighter who cannot pass the doping test. Thus, if the doping test fails, the athlete will lose $ 5 million.

Known rapper Pee Diddy and actor Mark Wahlberg made a bet on the upcoming fight ... Sean Coomes, aka Puff Daddy, aka P Diddy, bets on Mayweather to win, but Wahlberg believes in Pacquiao to win. At the same time, Wahlberg was not satisfied with Pi Diddy's $ 100 thousand bet on this fight, as a result, the amount of $ 250 thousand was chosen for the bet. bet with odds of 2.88.

Quote of the Day: "We agreed that we would sign the final contract, and then they sent us a draft agreement that completely excludes us. They don't want our word. So they came up with an agreement between Mayweather and MGM before or after our agreement. Anyway, they committed a fraud"- said the head of Top Rank, Bob Arum, representing the interests of Pacquiao a week before the scheduled date of the fight.

Learn more about the Floyd Mayweather fight - you can here and here