This Saturday, an unmovable object will meet an unstoppable force. There has been no bigger fight since Ali-Frazier III in 1975. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao — the fight of our generation — no, the fight of the century. Buckle your seat belts, because there are no breaks on the hype train.
But it should be bigger than this. Forget fight of the century — six years ago, this would have been fight of the millennium, easily. The fact that Mayweather-Pacquiao took this long shows everything that is wrong with boxing today. Since the talks began, both men have entered their late 30s. Pacquiao has suffered two painful losses. The dude also became a congressman in the Philippines, so you know his head isn’t solely in the game.
As for Mayweather, he’s still undefeated. He’s still the greatest defensive fighter in boxing’s history. And he’s still a dick. But he’s not the Mayweather that dethroned Oscar De La Hoya last decade.
Despite this, I and many other people are going to drop the insane amount of $100 for this pay-per-view. Like seriously, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao — take my money now. After several years of waiting, you no longer entirely care about who actually wins; the only thing that matters is that this is finally happening. And Vegas is going to get rocked: This might be the single largest economic event since the city’s inception.
It’s estimated that over $3 million are going to purchase this event. If the fight goes 12 rounds, Mayweather will likely earn $5 million per minute. The sponsors will be paying $13.5 million, and Bob Arum confirmed a live gate of $72 million. A lot of very rich people are about to get even richer. We’ll be paying them. Such is life.
But you can’t pass up the chance of possibly seeing Mayweather get it. I’ve got my money on “Money,” but I’d be more than happy to lose that bet. He’s a screwed up man, plain and simple. Just look at his history with domestic violence. When ESPN pressed him on his abusive past, he ducked that question the same way he’s been ducking Pacquiao for years.
“When it’s all said and done, only God can judge. But I don’t want people to miss this fight … May 2. Be there.”
Personally, I can’t wait for the day God judges him, but I’d be more than happy to see Pacquiao do so first. Besides, nobody who’s had both Triple H and Justin Bieber in their corner deserves to win. Now there’s an Axis of Evil if there ever was one.
This fight is not just a fight: it’s a freaking morality play. Manny is the people’s champion. He couldn’t have said it any better: “It’s time for Floyd to lose.” If he wins, it’s not just Pacman’s loss — it’s ours.
I don’t mean this in just a moral sense: A Mayweather victory will be boring as sin. A good example of this was his fight with Shane Mosley. That was five years ago, and yet I vividly remember the first two rounds. Mayweather started off weak in round one, and then in the second, Mosley rocked him with a series of rights. Money had practically been sent to his knees. For the first time in a long time, it looked like the streak would break. The crowd on TV went wild with Mosley chants. At the party I was at, everyone went insane. Some girl shouted over their drunken hysteria: “Get him, Shane! Get him!” They were like sharks who smelled blood in the water.
And then from there, it was business as usual. Mosley gassed, allowing Mayweather to slowly chip away for points. Ten forgettable rounds later, guess who won by an unremarkable, unanimous decision?
God bless you, Manny Pacquiao. The odds are stacked against you, but win or lose, you’ll always be the better man.
